Update

Hi Everyone!

I know, it's been a while.

Here's my update:

My last post was pre-Black Friday, so I'll start there. I did the Black Friday thing, worked out my plans, then busted them. Walmart was crazy. I knew it was going to be, but this year was so bad. Now, going in Hemet I assumed that people would be way nicer again like they were last year...there's a problem with assuming things. I didn't get a fist, but everything else. Elbows, shoving, I saw someone slap another person...it was awful. It was like people felt that they had a license to be rude just because it was Black Friday. At Target it wasn't bad, but they had a lot of police there and they only let people in the store 20 at a time...seriously. Even though people were out in the cold wrapped around the building. It was so sad. Kmart wasn't awful, but I didn't try to go near electronics there or I probably would have been hurt. It was so horrible.

Later that day I started to feel awful. Teddy Bear Tea waits for no sickness, however, and I wasn't convinced I was sick until I got there anyway. It turns out I had the flu. This lasted 3 days. Then Zoe got the flu, then Ali, then Becca, then Micah...then Tony. My house was out of it for about a week.

The kids went back to school. The first 2 days back Ali and Zoe both had subs. Apparently having Kindergarteners come back to consistancy isn't incredibly important to some administrators who felt that all the teachers needed training.

The next Monday, Ali and Zoe started full days. I have a few more hours in my day...I thought. Nope! There's too many things to do! It doesn't matter how much time I seem to have to myself, I still manage to mess it up with plans. I'm still volunteering 2 days a week with the twins' classes, then I have Clever Container stuff to do, cleaning house, running errands, helping my grandmother, making Christmas presents...too much stuff on my plate...which made me mess up along the way.

I lost my wallet. I know where I was when I used it last, I know what I did...it was all at home. Still, we checked the stores I went to that day, we searched the whole house (did a lot of cleaning that needed to be done before Christmas anyway) and in the end we gave up. Yesterday I went around all over town replacing everything that could be replaced. I was so frustrated.

What else could happen?  I got a call from my Sister in Law, Carrie.  Tony's mom's dad (are you still following me?  Tony's grandpa) isn't doing well and Audrey (my MIL) needed to drive up to see him...today.  She was going to go up by herself, but I asked her if she wanted somone to go with her and she loved that idea. 

So here I am.  Napa.  My mom has the kiddos after school, so all is well at home.  It was a 10 hour drive started really early this morning.  Now I sit and wait (relaxing after a long car ride) while my MIL and her siblings talk to the doctors. 

Okay, I think you are all caught up.  I should probably get back to the rest of the world now.

Black Friday is Coming! Oh, yeah, Thanksgiving too....

Today I was making my list of things that I would like to get on Black Friday. The annual event that makes people everywhere crazy makes me pretty crazy too.

I've blogged about this crazy day in the past. I love watching people shop like maniacs. I mostly go for the people.

This year there are a few deals that I want. I don't usually shop for electronics any other time of the year because I don't want to pay more than I have to. I'm often seen in the line at Best Buy at 2am on Black Friday, but as I look at the preview ads on bfads.net, I'm pretty sure I'm going to skip that one this year. I'm not going to spend my Thanksgiving in line there, so I'm not going to get the cheap laptop (there's never more than 2 in the store for those things).

This year I'm hitting Walmart (I usually avoid that place because crazy people tend to literally run each other over there), probably Kmart, and Sears. I'm still debating over Toys R Us.

I usually debate over Kmart. Their main sale is on Thanksgiving. I'm squeezing in the time this year because of a couple of deals I can't pass up. Thanksgiving for us is half the day with my family, half the day with Tony's. We'll be staying the night out in Hemet and leaving the house to my mom. I like Black Friday in Hemet. There are fewer people there and people watching is a completely different.

After the morning shop, the girls and I will be hitting the road to the Teddy Bear Tea Party in Riverside. It's an annual Escarzaga girls tradition. The girls all love sitting with Santa and enjoying the fun show that is always performed. It's great fun.

After that I hit the sack. I'm so tired by that point that I'll never be able to function if I don't get sleep.

That's my Thanksgiving weekend...or at least the first part.

Thankfulness

This month the kids and I are talking about thankfulness.

I know, nothing like going with the obvious.

We are starting on the 2nd because yesterday was really busy. I really wanted to do it every day, but that just didn't work out right. Each day we will be writing down one thing that we are thankful for. On Thanksgiving we will take the paper and look at all the different things that we are thankful for and praise God.

Cool plan, huh?

Today I'm thankful for the trash collector. The trash can didn't make it to the curb in time last week so we had an enormous amount of trash and it's really windy. I'm sure that their job is really hard on windy days.

That's me today. I'll be asking the kids after dinner and we will make our charts.

The Stereotypical SAHM

This week I feel trapped in a stereotype. I spend 2 of my mornings a week volunteering in my Kindergarteners' classes at school. I did all the normal chores at home in attempt to make my house as presentable as possible. I did 4 parent/teacher conferences and 2 awards assemblies. I'm also sewing a Halloween costume, shopping clearance racks for Christmas toys (Did you know everyone is clearing out a bunch of toy to get ready for the holiday rush? I picked up a bunch of stocking stuffers for next to nothing.), took the kids to the pumpkin patch for fall pictures and pumpkins, took the kids to the library for their Fall Festival thing, and I'm also baking for a bake sale for soccer on Saturday and a cake walk on Monday. Then planning everyone's outfits and stuff for red ribbon week (crazy hair day is tomorrow and that is all the girls' favorite). Oh, and don't forget taking the boy to soccer tomorrow and of course his therapy sessions that happen every week...I think that's everything.

Did I miss anything for the stereotype?

I don't have any girls in ballet...yet. Becca is practicing the violin, though. I think I've hit just about everything.

There's nothing there that is particularly bad, I'm just feeling like the mom from some TV show. It's not really me. I really don't like to sew, but I'm just too cheap to go buy a sheep costume for Ali (Becca is going to be Little Bo Peep, Ali is her sheep...they decided to update the nursery rhyme, though, and Ali will be wearing a GPS tracker...even my kids refuse to be normal). I'm not a baker normally, but I'm not going to be around to help sell stuff on Saturday, so I'm guilt-ed into making something for the soccer bake sale. Parent/teacher conferences are just a fact of life, no getting around those without being an out-of-touch mom.

I've probably got an excuse for everything, and there's nothing wrong with being the stereotype, I'm just wishing for a chance to go to work out at the gym...of course that's another bit of the stereotype too.

I just don't like being "normal".

It's a weird thing to complain about, I guess. Kinda crazy. Someone pass me the happy pills, I've joined the blah mom club.

Running and stuff

I am an active person normally. I seem to have gotten out of that routine and it's starting to drive me crazy.

One of my goals in life is to do a triathlon. I love swimming, biking...and I'll do the running too. I know that one day I'm going to be able to do that kind of thing. I'd like to do it before MS has me in a wheelchair again or some other nonsense.

Today I went online to find a race. I thought about it and I really want to do it soon...like next year. There's a triathlon in San Bernardino in June. I think I want to go for it...but I have to be in shape. I can do it, right?

If you look at me, you would see how out of shape I am. I'm going to have to work hard to do this. It means trips to the gym all the time, it means running to pick up the kids...and anywhere else I can do it. It's going to be work.

My other goals in life I can do if I'm a quadriplegic, but this one not really something I want to do from a wheelchair. I say that as if I'm absolutely going to be paralyzed later in life, but I don't really know that. MS is a funny thing. You never know how hard or how long or how it's going to strike. You just go with the flow and hope your brain cooperates.

So. Here we go. I'm going to sign up for it in January if I commit myself to the rest of this year training and shaping up. If I can make it that far, I'll sign up for something small in January, then something small in February, and so on until June. June will be my big one. If I like it and am able to, I'll continue. If I don't, I won't. I still want to work on my goal.

After I'm done with this, I'll work on my husband letting me skydive...or maybe my novel...or something else.

I'm no good at this

Blogging every day is killing me. I can't do it.

First of all, it's really hard to do that when life is happening. Secondly, I'm not blogging about my life, I'm giving tips and researching and that's work...it's taking too much time...then I fall behind. If you have tried following Chaos Made Beautiful, I'm sorry. It's just crazy for me right now.

Monday I went to the doctor. I had this fun heart problem (because I needed something else wrong with me). I sat there while they made sure it wasn't immediately life threatening. It wasn't. Immediately. Anyhoo, the doctor is going to put me on a monitor for a while so they can find out what it is.

Hooray.

What else is going on? Micah's bus is having ridiculous issues again. The bus driver is telling me it's all my fault because I argued for a different route...but I know otherwise because I have spies. Apparently she's just throwing a fit because I won the battle. Now I'm going to have to strike again to win the war. I can't stand that lady;s attitude. She yells at me in front of the kids. I realize that I'm making her look bad, but if she would do her job correctly we wouldn't have this problem.

Other than that? I'm having financial issues (who isn't?).

No, I didn't have a panic attack. The doctor asked me if I thought that was what the heart thing was...I laughed. I said if I didn't have one at any other point in my life, it I wouldn't start having them now. If I was going to have a panic attack, it would have been when Micah's seizures were regular, or when he was diagnosed, or when the twins were babies, or when Tony was out of work, or any other crazy point in my roller coaster life. It wouldn't be on a Monday. I love Mondays.

Restraint

Today I wanted to take the head off of my daughter's substitute teacher.

It is only by the grace of God that this woman survived the day.

I have begun a habit of helping out in Ali's class on Mondays, and Zoe's class on Thursdays. Today Ali had a substitute. I hesitate to help when subs come in because they don't know routines, fail to follow directions left by teachers, and generally drive me nuts. Today Ali was so looking forward to me staying that I didn't leave after all.

Ali has a little boy in her class with autism. He's fairly high functioning and really smart. I've talked with him off and on when I visit the class. I really like the kid. He loves Inspector Gadget and likes to talk about him...a lot. I tell him I will listen to him at recess all the time. He's a good kid. Ali's teacher is great with him. He listens and redirects in an amazing way. There are days when this boy is difficult, but Ali's teacher has so much patience and understanding. The fit is perfect.

Enter Sub Lady.

I listened to her reassure parents who didn't need reassuring that their children would be okay with her. No biggie. She just didn't read adults very well. Not a necessity.

I watched her play right into the hands of the little girl who loves to run the classroom and praise her for all her help...constantly. To the point where this little girl was practically telling her what to do. I tried not to let it bother me since the class was still running well and the kids were still getting their work done.

The thing that really go to me was when she just continually picked on the little boy with autism. She would call on him every time to answer a question. She praised little and bugged him a lot. The thing is, he was having a really good day. He was on task most of the time, he wasn't disruptive and he followed directions really well. It was a great day for him...except for when Sub Lady kept picking on him. I wanted to tell her to leave him alone.

Recess came around and the kids usually sit and have a snack at the beginning. The little boy had a yogurt in his bag and spilled it on himself. No big deal.... I took him to the office so they could call his parents because he really spilled it everywhere. The thing that made me really angry was her comment as we left, "they really should send him clothes because you know those kids always have accidents."

I walked away. I couldn't say anything to her at all without taking her apart and we were on the playground with a bunch of kindergarteners listening. I was so angry.

Zoe's teacher was walking back from break then and took one look at me and said "uh oh. Is everything okay?" I was still so angry and there were still kids around so I just said "I really like Mr. (Ali's teacher)". I kept walking the boy to the office and left him in the hands of the wonderful understanding school nurse.

I walked back to the playground praying that she didn't say anything at all about the boy the rest of the day and that the mom just took him home. God heard my cry and answered. The boy was rescued.

I went through the rest of the day just trying to go with the flow. The little girl who really needed to be told that the teacher would tell the instructions still pretty much ruled the class. Ali just sat and did her work. She was a little tired and could tell that I wasn't a happy camper. Poor kid probably knew why I was angry too. I felt so bad.

I left hoping that Ali's teacher returns tomorrow. I just don't think I could stand to know that Sub Lady is going to be there tomorrow.

Seizures and MS

It's tough to be a parent.  It's tough to be a parent of a child with autism. It's tough to be a parent of a child with autism and a seizure disorder.  It's tough to be a parent of a child with autism and a seizure disorder when you have multiple sclerosis.

Now that it is well established that my life is tough, I'll stop whining. 

Today Micah had a seizure.  I was helping out in Ali's class today when I got a call from Micah's school saying that he isn't feeling well, he doesn't have a fever or anything but he isn't acting right. He was laying down a lot and complained of a headache.  I wasn't sure it wasn't just allergies going crazy, but I figured I'd take him home and give him some meds. I picked him up explaining that he could go home, but he would have to go to school the next day.  I started to drive home then remembered that I didn't have any children's tylenol at home so I stopped at Target on the way.  We picked up a few things and headed back to the car.  We got to the car, took him out of the cart he was riding in, and as I got him in the car, the seizure started.

Relax, I've been there before.  I hate it, but at least I know what to do...it has been a while, though.

So a little over a minute later the seizure stops, I buckle him in then head over to the hospital.  It's been too long to not have documentation and hopefully a reason for the seizure's return.

I got to the ER and the parking lot is crazy.  There's construction going on at the hospital and there's never a good place to park.  I convince the security guard to let me park somewhere pretty close because Micah doesn't look like he's going to be able to walk.  Carrying a 10 year old anywhere is crazy hard.

I get there and check him in and he's still not walking well.  They weigh him and I noticed that he had lost 5 lbs since I weighed him last...a lot for a skinny kid like him.  Micah is pretty out of it at this point.  Still not walking well.  At least they have wheel chairs. 

I was really surprised in the ER when they put in the IV. Micah never sits still for a shot. It usually takes 4 or 5 people to keep him down.  They hadn't successfully given him an IV since he was a baby...not for lack of trying.  This time he was as quiet and still as he could be.

Not my normal kid.

The ER doctor came and asked a ton of questions to make sure he understood what was happening (and also to make sure I knew what I was talking about when I told him that Micah had a seizure I'm sure).  He had a bunch of blood drawn and paged Micah's regular neurologist.  We waited. And waited. And waited.  Micah's neurologist didn't get back to the ER doctor at all. A few hours passed and Micah was visibly recovering.  You could tell that he wasn't feeling bad any more. 

Micah sick in the ER is one thing, but Micah feeling better and wanting to go home is another.  He kept randomly calling out to people passing by his bed telling them that he wanted to go home.  One time he heard that he can't go home with an IV in his arm...you can imagine what happened after that.  Keeping him safe from himself suddenly became my priority.  His nurse had a pretty good sense of humor about her irate 10 year old patient.  She kept telling him what she was waiting on. The doctor came by and Micah told him to "let me go home! I'm hungry and you have to let me go get a smoothie!" Over and over and over he repeated this so much that the guy who came in on a gurney stopped and asked the doctor if he could "just give the kid a smoothie!"

Micah came home with no answers.  I'm just supposed to follow up with his neurologist to see what he wants to do.

I want Micah better on his own.  I don't want to give him seizure meds. He's usually a zombie when he's on those.

I am wiped out. Bone tired in the most literal sense.  I feel exhaustion all the way to my core.  Not good for MS.  I hope my brain functions tomorrow. I have an IEP.

Here Goes....

I decided to start a new blog. This one is going to be about my adventures in organizing. I'll talk about all the products from Clever Container and all the tips on organizing that I'm getting along the way. I'm explaining it all in the first blog. It's coming...the link...it's HERE! There you go, Chaos Made Beautiful.

Mostly I'm doing it because I would like to talk about the stuff without feeling like I'm selling stuff to my friends on this blog. Plus I don't want to have my life be all about organization. Really, I'm still just me. This blog is going to stay more about me and my adventures in parenting and life. I'll have stuff there about organizing my kids and such, but I don't think I'll stick to it.

Anyhoo, if you want to follow that blog, YAY! If not, following this blog is going to still be worth it...if you want to know more about me and my family anyway. The challenge I'm giving myself in this blog to start everything off is to blog every day of October. That should be fun. I've got a lot of fun stuff lined up. I'm probably not going to blog daily here...I never really have, so that's not going to be a shock for you. I'll be scheduling it in to blog here...no, nevermind, that's not going to happen. I blog here when there's something I need to say.

That's all I needed to say for now. :)

Rough Day

Today has been rough.

My day started with rushing kids out the door for school like normal. It seems like no one is ever on time around here unless I use a cattle prod.  After that rush I spent time cleaning up the mess from the night before that I had gotten too tired to take care of, as well as the mess left by rushing kids out the door.  This takes about 30 minutes then I hear a knock on the door...oh no.  It's Wednesday.

Micah's behavior therapy is moving from the tutor working with him to the tutor "teaching" me. I use the quotation marks because I've read the book that they are teaching out of, I've been through the slide show, I've basically taken the class before. They keep using excuses with this "class" because it's one on one and individualized to what Micah needs right now, but the reality is, I'm talking to my "teacher" and telling her how to make data forms more effective and showing her ways to streamline her teaching sessions. I'm basically adjusting Once a month her supervisor comes in and we actually stick to the program. 

So this morning I forgot it was Wednesday.  To be honest, the therapy lady isn't all that consistent anyway, but really it's my fault for not looking at my calendar that morning.  Good thing I'd at least cleaned up, but I was hoping for a little quiet time.  Not happening.

Instead I got a lecture about taking data on the weekends (one phone app is all it would take for me to record stuff. Paper doesn't fit in my life), and going over stuff she's required to talk about so I can have my hours of Micah therapy.

The morning is shot, I didn't even make it to the bank in the morning like I needed to and so I'd have to take the twins with me after school.  Hooray! They love me at the bank when I do that!

I pick up the twins and it's obvious that Ali has had some sugar that morning because she is just everywhere. She can't sit still, she can't stop talking, and she is just nuts.  She said her friend gave her candy (lecturing a sugar high 5 year old is ineffective-- for those of you non parents or parents who just haven't had that lovely experience).

So I run to the bank with a sugar high child and her giggly twin, run back home in time to grab Becca's art supply bin for her ATC party thing after school, then rush back to the school to get her because it's a minimum day.  I then transport Becca with supplies to friend's house, then rush home to make sure I'm there in time for Micah's bus...apparently I didn't need to rush.  His bus came 45 minutes later. Apparently the bus driver lady takes the 1 hour limit for Micah's bus ride and assumes that he has to be on the bus for the whole hour.  During that hour I'm fielding a work call, sending off a really important couple of emails (one that I couldn't find the info for so I had to get in touch with Tony so he could save me), and giving the twins magic erasers so they can clean the stuff off the walls that they just decided to draw there.  I was really happy to see the bus arrive.

I put 3 kids in the car and go to hang out with Becca and let the twins make ATC's too.  Micah doesn't care and wants the DS. Whatever.

After the girls have gotten their crafting on, we clean up and head home. Micah begins his after school chart.  This is part of his therapy. I'm not totally convinced it's working, but since it's taking up half my wall in the living room now, it's happening.  Tantrum begins as soon as he gets to the chores.  He's figured out that I'm not feeling super today, so he presses his luck assuming that I'm giving in...nope, not happening.  The problem is, as soon as he figures out I'm not feeling great, he gets physical.  I got kicked, hit, slammed, but he took out the trash.  Next step, homework.  I got him over to his backpack and he starts laughing...I opened it and didn't find the folder. I have no idea what he did with it, but he swears it's at school. Nothing I can do about that.

Next therapy project. Oh, and along the way I'm trying to help 2 Kindergarteners with homework, fielding questions from the 3rd grader about vocabulary ("can't I just google the answer?"...NO!), and attempting to answer the phone when important business calls come in.  Yeah, I can do all that....

I finally get everything done, kids all finish homework, everyone sits to relax for a minute with Micah on the Wii and the girls watching him play...then Daddy walks in the door.

I haven't started dinner.

Nevermind, I don't need a break. I get up and start something when I realize that my oven stopped working AGAIN!

I lost it.  I started to cry.  Tony came in the kitchen and moved me out.  I went to my room. I heard him send the girls off to clean their room.  The girls obeyed without much fuss.  All was right...until I heard the sound of the toilet not quite flushing.  Bad mom forgot to buy toilet paper and one of the girls used a baby wipe...or maybe 2 or 3...then tried to flush them.  Tony comes in and tells me he's going to run to the store. No! I want to go! I rush out for my retail therapy (okay, I bought toilet paper, but it was still theraputic) and come back just a bit happier than when I left.

Why was this day rough? Mostly because I forgot to look at the calendar at the beginning and plan my day right from the start. I found myself just feeling like I needed to catch up all the time.  Tomorrow will be better.  I'm going to be a super mom tomorrow. Today I'm just Super Dad's sidekick.  Not horrible, but I keep getting into trouble.

Micah's Birthday!!!!

We had a blast at Micah's birthday party. I'm so relieved.

Inviting his whole SDC class (that his class for kids with special needs) made me pretty leery. I mean, what do you do with all those kids of differing abilities? Jumping Jacks was the perfect fit. There were no games to play, not much needed in the way of food (we did just cupcakes at the end and tacos for those who came a little early). It was so easy. No clean up, everyone was satisfied and had fun.

Only 3 of Micah's classmates came out of 15 in his class. This was not unexpected because going to parties is not always as easy for our kids as it is for "normal" kids. I can take my girls to a birthday party with no problem, but if I take Micah, I have way more prep work to do. Still, 3 kids from his class came, and that was awesome! These kids were the ones who really like Micah too. One of the kids has been in the same class with Micah for many years and was so excited to see that he could play with Micah away from school. Micah played with him (well, as much as he plays "with" kids anyway) and they had fun.

Micah's cousins all came from Dad's side. My family is all a bit far or a bit young to make it to the nighttime party. They all loved playing on the bounce houses and just running around. The adults all had fun too. I have an interesting video of Tony and his brother playing in one of the arenas together...it's special.

One of the kids from our church came, and that was great. He's an awesome kid and really had fun. Also, a couple of friends from our last church made it and had a blast jumping around with us too.

Overall, we had 18 kids there and everything was so smooth. No tantrums, no weirdness because of food, just fun.

A great time was had by all.

Supermom

I'm a mom. It's what I do. I'm pretty good at it, I think.  Of course, we'll know for sure 20 years from now when my kids are all grown, christlike, productive members of society. Until then, I'll keep my title of Supermommie and rest knowing God is really in charge.

That being said, I'm going to make a statement about supermoms that some people may disagree with.

Supermoms do what needs to be done for their kids regardless of who is watching.

That doesn't mean they don't hesitate sometimes because it may be uncomfortble (every mom has done that). It doesn't mean they don't take their child in the other room to provide discipline (an awesome practice that should be done whenever possible and necessary).  It means that even if you are in line at Walmart and your kid is screaming as loud as his little lungs can handle and annoying everyone around him, Mom still sticks to her guns.  She doesn't waiver just because people are watching and she's embarrassed.

That being said, I saw a supermom today.  I love it.  As she stood there and people made rude comments around her, she didn't give in and give the child the candy he wanted. She ignored those around her who told her to "shut the kid up" and went on with her business as if she wasn't dragging along a kid who so obviously didn't agree with her decision.  I wanted to applaud...and slug the guy making rude comments.

The other day I was in line and overheard what looked like a grandmother telling her daughter who had 4 kids with her "this isn't high school, you have no excuse for thinking that everyone is watching you, they aren't".  That grandmother was right. No one was watching (well, besides me, but I don't count). This mom clearly had everything under control with her kids but was embarrassed by the loud (but fairly polite) voices of her children. I'm not saying that this mom isn't super. I observed her kids. They were pretty awesome considering the fact that the oldest looked about 5. Having all those kids with you shopping isn't easy, I've been there. She was doing what was necessary and it worked. 

My point is that what random people in a supermarket (or wherever) may judge you, but that isn't going to make as much impact on your child's life as your consistancy. If they know that all they have to do is embarrass you in order to get their way, what good does that teach them? If they know that rules are rules no matter where you happen to be, that is a huge lesson that will take them far. 

I love getting lessons from other supermoms. It's great to see I'm not the only one out there working hard to raise my kids up to be awesome adults. 

The Party

This year is Micah's turn for a birthday party. Yes, my kids take turns. It makes my life easier and makes their parties better because I can save up for them in time and money and plan them better. Having kids with birthdays in July, August, then September makes having parties for them more difficult...but I just don't do it.

Anyhoo, it's been Micah's turn in the past and he just didn't want a party. This year is different. He's getting older and a lot more social and he doesn't mind people. Plus he found a place that he likes to have the party at.

We are going to Jumping Jacks. It's an indoor bounce house arena. It's not any more expensive than going to the dreaded Chuck E Cheese or like places, except there's no food there. They have a room where you can have your own food for cake and stuff away from the bounce houses, but they don't make you buy food from them. This makes it easier for Micah with his special diet and cheaper for me.

Micah is an awesome planner. When I asked him if he wanted to have a party this year since it was his turn he said yes and told me all the details. He wanted Jumping Jacks, tacos for a meal, a Cars 2 theme, a chocolate car cake, and to invite all his class from school and kids from church and Matthew and Joey. I asked him if he wanted his cousins to come, he said "sure". I'm pretty sure they were an afterthought, but that's okay.

I told him that he isn't allowed to write on the invitations the gifts that he wants each of them to bring like he planned. That was a tough one to get over.

Recently he decided to change his mind and he wanted a Phineas and Ferb party instead...too late. He's still getting Cars 2, but he's okay with that. I told him the time to change his mind isn't the month of the party. Plans are already set in motion.

I don't know how the party is going to turn out, but it's been the easiest for me to plan, that's for sure. Jumping Jacks has been awesome in getting everything set up for us. The only thing that I am worried about is how late the party is going to go. The only reservation that was available was for 6:40pm. Hopefully everyone will be okay with it. I'm glad it's on a Friday night, though.

We'll see how it goes soon!

Vacation in Hawaii

I went to Hawaii for a week and left my family behind. I know, that may not seem like a Supermommie thing to do, but I did it anyway.

Tony didn't even go. It was me and my mom and one of my best friends. A girls only week.

There wasn't a day while I was gone that I didn't think about them or wish they could have come along...well, at least Tony. I may have missed a day in wishing that my kids were there.

That being said, I had a great time.

I brought back all kinds of Hawaii junk for them. Shopping for them helped me not to miss them so much, I think.

I took a ton of pictures. It was wonderful to be able to sit and wait for a great shot and not have to worry about kiddos getting bored.We went on a tour of a coffee farm and roasted our own Kona coffee...we brought a lot of coffee home.We went to a lu'au. That was cool.We hiked a bit to some fun places.We went on a tour of a volcano...underground.We snorkeled, swam, and played at beaches all over the island. I took some fun pictures from under the water with my H2O pouch from my Clever Container business and my phone.



I have some others videos, but I'm not done editing yet. I kept dropping the phone and it kept floating to the top because of the air in the pack. This one is pretty cool, though.

Overall, it was a great vacation. I'm really glad I went, and I want to go back...next time with my family.

My Shoes

Today I am going to tell you about my shoes.

I love my shoes. I cringed when I originally paid $45 for them. You see, I'm really cheap. I hate spending a lot on stuff to wear.

I'm not a fashion kind of girl. I don't care about looking cute unless the occasion specifically calls for it. My normal outfit is jeans (sometimes shorts), tank top or t-shirt, and these shoes.

These shoes went with me to the Rocky Mountains and hiked up a few walking trails.

These shoes went with me to Knotts Berry Farm when I went with a bunch of Girl Scouts.

These shoes went with me to Disneyland...several times.

These shoes most recently went with me to Hawaii...more hiking, some beach time, tons of shopping...a lot of fun.

These shoes go with me shopping, to the gym (though I can't wear them there unless I plan on swimming my work out), to church, taking the kids to school and a million activities.

These shoes are wearing out.

I want more of these shoes.

Those exact shoes.

I don't want to find something else. I like these shoes.

I plan on wearing these shoes until they die. They haven't died yet. I'm just beginning to see the wear and tear.

I checked Sketchers, they don't make them anymore, ebay doesn't have them in my size. If my shoes die, there is no replacing them.

I will have to give them a proper burial...or perhaps bronze them for posterity.

I love my shoes.

I'm going to Hawaii!

Okay, it's weird. I'm going to Hawaii and my husband is staying home. He's been there before though. He said he was bored when he went. He's never been to the Big Island that I'm going to though. I use all kinds of excuses for going without him, but I really wish he could come. I'm going to miss him an awful lot. Still, I'm going to Hawaii with my mom and one of my best friends. We are going to have a blast.

Why am I going to Hawaii? Well, my brother made the reservation with my mom's time share about a year ago. Since that time, things came up and he wasn't able to go. My mom didn't want to give up the reservation because it's really hard to get. She wanted my grandma to go with her, but she just wouldn't. It didn't take long for me to shout "I'll go!"

In my excitement I posted on Facebook that I was going to Hawaii and my friend, Shelley said "take me with you!" I talked with my mom and since the reservation was for a 2 bedroom suite that sleeps up to 6 and she gets along great with Shelley, we invited her to come if she could buy her plane ticket.

Now 3 ladies are taking Hawaii by storm! Two of us are married and leaving our husbands behind with kiddos (though Shelley's kiddos are a lot bigger than mine). Shelley and her husband are celebrating their anniversary this weekend. I think I'd feel worse about going to Hawaii the week after my anniversary...nah.

I love my husband. He's awesome. He's taking a week of vacation off work so that he can come be me at home with the kiddos. While it would be even more awesome if he could come, just the fact that he's letting me go without him is pretty great.

School Bus

This year we have begun again the school bus fight. It's a fight I've had ever since my son started on the bus. It's really annoying.

Micah was never a school bus child until 2nd grade. He begged and begged to get on the bus until I finally allowed him to come home on it...even though it was only a 5 minute ride. I didn't realize at the time that it would turn into a nightmare.

The very next year he was sent to a new school. Literally the farthest school in the district from my house. It was horrible. Every day I still drove him to school. I'm a paranoid mom who really wants to know who is with my child every day and wants a talking relationship with my child's teachers and the staff at the school. This is 3rd grade. I know he could use some space, but I am just not that mom. It was really a good thing I stayed involved that year, though. Micah had the worst bus schedule ever. He was literally on the bus for 2 hours after waiting 30 minutes after school for the bus to even get there. Not getting my kid from school until dinner time was not a plus for me. Besides, he was so agitated after being in that bus for so long every day that he just wouldn't calm down until bedtime.

I debated dropping the bus thing all together. Honestly, it wasn't a fight that I wanted to have. Still, there were other kids going through the same thing. The bus system was broken and no one else was going to be loud enough to fix it.

I'm loud.

I rock the boat. I called an IEP. I requested that a representative of the transportation department be there as well as Micah's bus driver. I also made sure that someone from pupil services was there as well as an autism specialist and the school psychologist and anyone else I could think of that would help this situation. They all showed up and they changed his route and worked on strategies with the bus driver to help Micah learn to be on the bus. Overall it worked because he didn't have to be on the bus very long at all.

Then came the next year. New year, new school, new bus driver. New school not because of any moving that I had done, just because they "realigned classes". I didn't rock the boat again because I really liked the new school and the new teacher. The teacher and bus driver worked together for 3 months to get Micah to get on the bus easily. Plus, the bus driver knew to get Micah off the bus as soon as she could. This worked out well, Micah was on the bus for less than 30 minutes every day. Not bad since the school takes me 8 minutes to get to and she had other kids to drop off.

Then comes this year. Micah is back to a long bus ride. He's on the bus for about an hour and 15 minutes to two hours. Yeah, they aren't real regular with that. Not cool. Micah is starting to get frustrated. He isn't showing it on the bus yet, but I'm waiting for it. I don't want it to get bad again. Micah's teacher has already tried talking to the bus driver who isn't really happy with that. She's also called over her head to no avail. My turn.

Today I'm on the phone again. Pupil Personel, Transportation, if someone doesn't fix this this week we will have an IEP again. You all don't want to know that I'll do this time. Someone do their jobs before I start working the system. I know how to do that and my child will get what he needs. I take care of my kids.

That's why I'm Supermommie.

Clever Container

I promised myself I wouldn't do too many blogs about my business. This whole business will not take over my life. Still, it's something I'm doing so it's part of my life, so I still have to share some stuff sometimes.

One of Clever Container's catch phrases is "Organizing Just Got Fun!". I have to say, I am having fun. That's not even a pitch for my company either. Sure, I'm a little stressed out. Things are kind of overwhelming and starting a business really wouldn't be my thing if I wasn't so determined. Overall, however, just having to take the time to do the parties, talk to people about organizing stuff, and organizing myself has really been a good experience. I like talking to people and giving tips on organizing. It's funny when people who know me see the differences and say something. I get to tell them about my products and show the results. Of course, the products aren't what make organization happen. It takes a lot of work. I know, duh!

I am reading a book that I found at Borders (anyone else sobbing at their closing?) on a great clearance. It's all about organizing. I haven't finished it yet, but it's good so far. It's called Go Organize! by Marilyn Bohn (yes I do feel the irony in the fact that my link was to the book on Amazon). I am enjoying the read. It's a step by step guide to organizing your home. I'm going to use the methods for one room in my house and see what happens. If it works for me I'll share.

One of my favorite things about starting my business has been the advertizing. No one I have encountered has ever heard of Clever Container before. It's nice to be able to pull out one of the products from my purse and show them something that will make life easier for them. The line of products for organizing your purse it pretty good. There's a whole party that I was trained on designed around organizing your purse. It really sounds fun and I can't wait for someone to ask about it.

Okay, I promise, I won't have too many plugs for my business on this blog. I'm actually debating the merits of starting another blog about my before and after organization and the process. This one would have lots of pictures. I'd just do a vlog, but I don't like to look at myself. If I do it, I'll post a link later.

What are you going to do today?

Every school day, as I let my girls out of the car, I ask them a question in a loud (and probably embarrassing) mom voice: "What are you going to do today?" I've asked this question to Becca since she started Kindergarten and the girls all know the correct response "listen and obey". Ali and Zoe love it. It starts off their day with a smile because they have seen me do this with Becca all the time.

Becca doesn't love it. She rolls her eyes, but still gives the correct response. I keep waiting for her to come up with a witty retort like "find a boy and run away" or "ruin my teacher's day". Still, she's got it in her head what I expect of her. She knows that she is to listen to those in authority and obey them.

Zoe and Ali are having more trouble in school than Becca ever did. Not that they aren't keeping up with the educational stuff...more like boredom there. Their problem is that they just aren't getting their way enough for their tastes. Zoe had her incident the first week. She hid under the table when she didn't get to be the line leader. This happened two days in a row and the teacher learned that she should tell me when my child does something wrong right away so that she won't do it again. Ali's incident happened this week. She decided that since she didn't get to be behind her friend in line, she just wasn't going to get in line. She cried and laid herself down on the floor. Her teacher told me that day. It worked. She's not had an incident, and she isn't likely to. My girls HATE not getting dessert. If teachers have to tell me about bad behavior, they don't get dessert. It's kind of double consequences because she had to lose recess too, but my kids had to learn that the teacher and I are on the same team.

Yesterday and today I added something new to our morning chat at the top of our lungs. After asking them what they are going to do today, I got my response, then I asked again "even if you don't get your way, you still" and they knew what to say without even being prompted "listen and obey".

I've learned that this concept, when reminded every morning, has helped Becca. She knows that I want her to do well in school, and she does, but the part that so many kids seem to lack that she doesn't is respect for authority. Don't get me wrong, she and I have our struggles, but they don't play out in front of others nor does she struggle with anyone else. She is eager to please her teachers and the staff at the school and other adults around her. She listens to them, and they all know it. Have I turned my child into a brown-noser? Probably. Being that way has served me well all my life, though. I just pray that this will play out as well in Ali and Zoe's lives as well as it has in Becca's.

Dear My Child's Teacher,

Dear Teacher,

Please don't put off until tomorrow to tell me about the discipline problem that you had with my child. If she hid under a desk and told you that she wasn't coming out, there's a problem that needs to be addressed today, not tomorrow when she doesn't remember why she went under there in the first place.

Another thing, please stop telling me and my child that she is the smartest in your class. I don't care if you tell every child that, it's just not right. I don't want my child compared to others. She may be your favorite already, but she doesn't need to know that. She is very manipulative, all my kids are. They are smart and want their own way, so they use their intelligence to find your weakness and if you put up with it, it gets worse. Build up my child's self esteem in different ways. She likes challenges, give them to her. She's smart, but she's still in Kindergarten, there is a lot for her to learn.

I know that you attempt to phrase your parent feedback in a positive way, but if the only thing positive about my child that you can think of is how smart she is, try harder. There are a lot of awesome things about my kids. I know that she is intelligent, I've been her teacher for 5 years. Don't make me dread hearing you say "she's so smart BUT". Try giving me something specific that she has done that day that is positive, then give me the specifics about the negative.

Thank you for all your hard work. I'm sorry that you had to physically grab my child out from under the desk today, but if you would have told me about the incident from yesterday yesterday, this would not have happened. My daughter needs consistent discipline. The first week is filled with grace, I know, but my child tests limits from the beginning while most kids are still getting used to being without their parents. It's odd because they haven't been in preschool for them to be like this, but they are very independent. It comes with the intelligence.

My expectations for my children are very high, so your job is going to be tough. Don't worry, I have your back. I'm there to enforce in ways you can't and teach right along with you. Please know that I appreciate everything that you do for my child.

Sincerely,
Supermommie

Time for School!

It began Monday morning. All was organized. Sunday night I had laid out all the clothes, packed backpacks, and got everything ready. Monday all 4 of my kids went to school. To be fair, the twins just had orientation that lasted only a few hours and my mom and I went with them. Still, it was a beginning. The girls met their teachers and had a blast meeting classmates. They loved it.

Today was just as organized. This was a surprise for me because I usually have a great first day and then blow it the rest of that first week, only to go back to getting it right the next week, determined to not blow it again. It was new to finally get it together 2 days in a row.

The twins had their first day without the help of a parent there today. Apparently they did great. Not a surprise for me, but most people who know the twins have rarely seen them apart and don't know that they really are good kids when they aren't conspiring against me.

Last week I was at the school helping our PTA president with stuffing envelopes and asked about the twin's classes. They had them in the same class...I fixed that quickly. Not that I minded the teacher, but the twins needed to be separated. The Ali and Zoe never knew. I love that Ali is in Mr Cunanan's class. He's so fun and she loves him already. Zoe is having a great time with Mrs Brace who also adores the color purple just as much as my daughter. Zoe found that out when she was coloring during her own face during orientation. She wanted to be purple, so she drew her face that way. Mrs Brace told her that she loves purple too and that they were going to get along quite well!

Becca has begun 3rd grade. She is in GATE now (Gifted And Talented...something). She is in an interesting class. I found out from another teacher friend of mine that there was going to be a little boy with autism in that class. The teacher was reluctant to have this boy in her class because she just doesn't know anything about how to work with him. When my teacher friend found out that Becca was going into that class, she told the teacher that Becca would be a perfect fit for a buddy for this little boy. It made Becca feel good to be a help, made the teacher a bit more comfortable having the boy in the class, and the little boy has an automatic friend in Becca. I'm going to be monitoring her grades and attitude through the year closely to see if it's too much for her. I'm not terribly worried, though. I don't think Becca will have a problem. She's always top of her class in practically everything, and it won't hurt her to do a little extra. I know she is getting more being in GATE, though, so I'm still watching close.

Micah is in the same class as last year and his aid will be the same as soon as she gets off maternity leave. The problem is that the summer was just a bit too short, so Melissa (Micah's aid) just didn't have time to recover completely while Micah was off. Fortunately, Micah's teacher is awesome and she has a small class and plenty of help at the moment. Micah will start mainstreaming tomorrow with or without his regular aid, but it would be nice if someone he knows is with him when he starts.

Good start, huh? I'm so proud of my kiddos.

VBS and Speech and Fun Camp

This week is even crazier than last week.

Each morning I wake the kids up (not my favorite thing to have to do) and we go to Speech and Fun Camp. It's a fantastic opportunity for us. The camp is in Moreno Valley, and it's a day camp for kids with autism and their siblings. In every classroom, there are teachers and speech therapists there playing with the kids. They do stuff like music and they have a sensory room that is really fun. While they are at camp, the parents are pampered, go to support groups, listen to speakers on all kinds of therapy and treatments and services. These classes and things are completely optional, and many parents just drop off the kids and go relax. Anyway, it's really great. I'm really sad that we have to miss the second week of it, but the kids start school on Monday.

In the afternoon there are various activities available where the parents take the kids places or have classes with the kids on campus. We have to miss a few this week because Micah has his behavior therapy, but the ones we went to have been fun. Yesterday they had a fire truck, ambulance, and a limo come out and the kids got to check them out and ask questions. There was also an art class and a class on laughter therapy that was a barrel of laughs.

After that, we have Vacation Bible School at our church. It's been a blast. This week I am working with middle school kids. I'm having a ball. The kids are having fun too. Something great happened with our VBS this year. A family who was in town for the Speech and Fun Camp looked online for a VBS in the area for the kids to go to in the evenings so that they wouldn't be bored staying in their hotel room. Awesome idea, by the way. Anyhow, they came on Monday and saw that Micah was still wearing his camp shirt and were so excited. The boy who has autism was in Micah's class and they just clicked. The mom told me that night that her son told her that he was praying for a friend who was a boy. He was so excited when he found that God answered his prayer!

Another awesome thing that happened was in my class in middle school. We have a visitor coming who is delayed mentally. She's a great girl to have in our class and is so fun to be around. Her mom came to me when she dropped her off on Monday and started to explain some things about her. I was so happy to tell her about Micah's autism and she was so relieved to find another parent who understands about special needs. God really did something awesome when he was placing kids and workers in our VBS.

I'm super tired every day, but God gives me the strength to keep going. It's not been without incident. Micah decided to run away from Tony yesterday when Tony turned his back for a few seconds. I ended up finding him running down the street and freaking out. Everything was fine, but it always messes me up when Micah does that.

Next week is bound to be crazy too. The kids will be going to school, and there's always a struggle to get back into that routine. Micah's behavior therapist is working with me to establish the homework plan now before it starts. Hopefully it will work when it comes time to actually implement it.

So, maybe crazy is just becoming normal. I'm really okay with that, as long as I can stay organized and one step ahead of the kids.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Yesterday I was in the car with 4 girls (Cassidy was with us) and I asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up. Becca has changed her mind and wants to be president. She used to want to be the first lady, but has since decided that she can have more control if she's just president herself. She figures she could just be a lawyer first until she gets a lot of money and run for mayor first, then governor. She said she can do a better job than Governor Brown and that California will elect anybody. I'm wondering who has been talking to my almost 8 year old about politics....

Zoe wants to be a police officer. She said she wants to give people tickets to jail. Becca told her that if people just got tickets to jail they would throw them away. Zoe explained that she would simply go to their house and put bracelets on them and then put them in the car with her dog. Ali told Zoe that not everyone should go to jail, some of them should just pay money. Zoe said "Hooray! Then I will be rich!" Of course I had to explain about bribes and what the government does with money from tickets. Zoe was less thrilled, but she figured if she still got to "put bracelets on people" she would be fine with the job still.

Cassidy wants to be a farmer or a photographer (not both, that would be too hard-her words, not mine). She said she wants to be a farmer so she can have a horse. I told her that she didn't have to be a farmer to have a horse. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

Ali told me that she wants to cheer for USC. I asked her what she wants to do after college. She said "I think I'll be a crossing guard and coach the cheerleaders for USC!" I don't get this obsession with USC, but I'm not opposed to her plans. If her goal in life is to go to USC and cheer, that's pretty good for a girl who is about to start Kindergarten in a few weeks! She really likes the idea of being a crossing guard too. She said she likes telling cars what to do. I really do have a few control freaks on my hands.

I just asked Micah what he wants to be when he grows up. He told me he wants to shoot people into space. I'm okay with a kid working for NASA. That's probably right up his alley. I'm really surprised that he didn't want to go to space himself, though. He doesn't like small spaces for long periods of time, though, so maybe I'm not. Still, normally kids say "astronaut". Micah has never been "normal" though. He's awesome like that.

The twins asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. Becca objected saying that I already have grown up and I don't do anything. That was interesting. After a long conversation about what I do, Ali asked again what I want to be when I "get old". I said, "I want to be like Jesus". Zoe responded "Me too! And I want to be a police!" I told her that I liked that plan for her a lot.

My Crazy Week

This week I am consumed by several different things.

Vacation Bible School is coming and I'm crazy enough to be a part of 2 VBS's in a row. One week I am helping in a 3 and 4 year old class at my father-in-law's church and the next week I am directing the middle school class at my church. I love the idea of doing both but I know I am going to be so tired! I love VBS! I'm still probably crazy for doing both.

On top of all that is the start of my business. I have an Open House for my Clever Container business this Saturday from 1-6pm. It's going to be a blast and I'm having fun planning. Hopefully people will come and the day will be an exciting start for my new project. I am putting in hours and hours of my time into this business and I really hope it takes off. My kids are really starting to get the idea that I'm working sometimes (when they are busy or sleeping, that's what's awesome about being in charge of my hours!). It's working out well so far.

The next is my kids. It's funny how much they get on each others nerves lately. Each of them really need time to themselves once in a while. Micah has it easy being in a room by himself, but my poor girls are all sharing their room. The arguments get old. I'm really going to be excited when school begins because they will be separated for at least part of each day. Keeping them busy just hasn't been enough. We've worked on the house together (scrubbing walls is Ali's specialty!) we've played in the water out in the backyard, done a few crafts, watched a few movies and just had fun. Still, doing things together is getting old. Becca especially wants some alone time. Ali and Zoe could use time away from each other too. Micah really likes that he can tell his sisters to get out of his room and they have to listen to him.

Tony is here sometimes. He is going in to work early a couple of days a week so he can umpire in the evenings. He comes home really tired most of the time. Soon he will be going in early so he can go to his second job after...and if his umpire season isn't over by then I'll never see him. Still, summer will end eventually and things will go back to a routine. All will be fine...eventually.

What else is happening? I'm going to Hawaii with my mother and one of my friends at the end of August/beginning of September and staying for a week. It's going to be fun! I'm really excited. I've been working on travel plans for that too.

I'm busy. That's why I'm taking the time to blog now at 1 am. Insomnia is going to be useful tonight I guess. I should still go to bed. Goodnight!

What I want my kids to be when they grow up.

Recently one of my friends posted this article on Facebook. It's about how people tend to praise kids at the top of their lungs when they win at sports, but not when they bring home an A in school. I totally agree with the author's point. We should absolutely cheer for our kids when they get an A. That makes total sense.

Still, I can't help but wonder: is that what I really want to focus my cheers on? Don't get me wrong, I want my kids to do well in this life. Education is very important. My kids bring home an A and I cheer. I want to raise a bunch of nerds. The focus shouldn't be on that either, though.

If I had to choose one thing to cheer it wouldn't be the school tests, the essays or the SAT results. It wouldn't be the home run or the soccer goal either. My kids would get the cheers for spiritual achievements. Good character choices would have me screaming. When my older two were baptized, I was there with the camera and I shouted for joy. When my kids memorize Bible verses I cheer. When they make the choice on their own to do something nice for another, I want to take them out for pizza to celebrate.

In the end it isn't about how much money you have made. There was a quote by LZ Granderson in the article (a really good statement, by the way) "Jocks go on to play for your favorite team but nerds go on to own the teams those jocks play for. " Jocks and nerds alike still need Christ. There are plenty of both who have gotten into trouble for lack of integrity and self control. Character matters. Christ matters. Eternity is hell without Him.

Summer and Being Broke

I'm not a happy camper this summer....

I blogged about what I plan on doing to stop from being broke. My Clever Container business is starting. I got my supplies and I'm waiting with baited breath for the ability to start my website so people can order. I'm not making money yet, so it's not really a helpful thing yet. One day soon I'll have my kick off party and hopefully everything will go smoother from there.

Until then I'm dealing with bored kids.

Last summer I saved up some money and was able to send all the kids to different camps and Vacation Bible Schools and that kind of thing. I filled up the summer. This year my car was stolen and with that went my savings trying to replace it. It's been an adventure.

With my mom out of our house, I had to figure out some creative ways to continue to make sure that someone can cook every day even if I'm overheated for the day. It's Southern California, it happens a lot. Everyone has to eat even if mom doesn't feel good, so I spent a bit of money making that possible.

In all of this, my husband is umpiring...a lot. I don't really begrudge him that, he's a really good umpire and people count on him...but it's volunteer, so it's taking up time and gas money and making more issues.

So the kids are bored, they miss their dad, and they are driving me nuts...and I'm broke so I can't do much to fix it.

Last week Tony had the week off, but we had $20 to spend for the week (including gas) and that made the whole week difficult...along with a beautiful case of scarlet fever for the 3 girls. I called my mom and asked to borrow money for medication copay so that my kids could have amoxicilin so they didn't die from it, then I'm even more than broke, I'm in debt...but at least my kids are okay.

I can't handle another month of this. Something has to go right....

Tony starts his second job next month. This should help us stay afloat for a while. Hopefully my business gets off to a good start so that more pressure is relieved. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. August 1st my kids go back to school and thus will no longer be bored and sitting around my house thinking of horrible things to do. I'm not going to sink too far into household budget crisis. The end is near, and God has it under control.

Starting Something New

I'm broke. All the time. It stinks. I hate it. When my bank account says that the balance is 11 cents and I'm stuck at home figuring out what is in the pantry that we can eat for the next week because we had an emergency and now don't have grocery money, I decided that I just can't do this anymore.

I've considered for a long time what I can do about this issue. I considered taking on a job. I hate that idea. I love being at home with my kids. I just can't think of doing something less than flexible with my time.

I considered extreme couponing. I've come to the conclusion that I don't have the space to store the bulk items that I would have to do to make it work. Plus with my son on a special diet, I just don't think that I'd be able to fully take care of his needs that way. I know that there are probably ways to do it, but I just don't think I could convince my son to wait on his almond milk until it goes on sale. I don't have the patience for it either.

My next idea came from several friends who are all in some sort of direct sales business. Creative Memories, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Cookie Lee....the list goes on for a while. I searched for a direct sales company with a good reputation that I love the products and I don't already know at least 2 consultants. That narrowed down the list quite a bit. You see, I know a lot of consultants. A LOT. If I'm not hosting a party, I'm going to one at least once a month lately. This week it was actually 3. Crazy, huh?

So I searched for a while and found that there is actually a list from the Direct Selling Association of reputable companies. I went through that list...it's really long. I don't wear make up. I am allergic to a lot of smells. That narrowed the list down a lot. I'm not a girly girl and jewelry doesn't appeal to me in the least. Decorating my house was fun, but I just didn't think I could get into promoting home decorating stuff when I know that even if I love the catalog now, next year they could have really ugly stuff.

Finally I found a company that I liked! It's a company called Clever Container. They sell organization products. Cool! I know, if you read my blog at all, you know that I'm not the most organized person that you'd ever meet. Why would I get excited about organizational products? It's been my goal for how many years now to become more organized? Well, now I have to be and I get to test out really cool new products and get organizational techniques from professional organizers (there are a lot of those in this company) while working my own flexible business.

I know myself. If I spend money on a cool new gadget that works to help me clean, organize, or make my life easier, I will actually use it. If I have to work for it, I use it even more so. Why? Because wasting money on products bugs me too much!

I think the thing that sold me was the entire line of car organizing products. My car is notoriously messy. If I am going to run an organizing business, though, my car can't be that way. If my car goes from the junk heap that it was to the organized masterpiece that I'm sure it will be as soon as I get my hands on my cool stuff for it (for I will go immediately out to clean out my car and become a rigid mom about what goes in there and what stays out), I will know that I can apply those same things in my house and the rest of my life.

How do I know I can do this? I look at my son's room. Everything has a place in that room. I set it up that way on purpose so that my son can be comfortable. He thrives in order and consistency. If he knows where something goes, he puts it there...and no where else. I look at the rest of my house. Anywhere that Micah consistently uses something is organized. Anywhere else is not necessarily organized because I haven't made it a priority. It's not that I don't know how to organize, I just don't do it unless I have to. Yeah, I sound lazy. I can say that about myself sometimes...until I look at my schedule. Still, part of my business is going to be being organized...so here I am. I have to do it, so I will.

The next thing that I think will make me successful is that my kids will all be in school as of August 1st. That will give me my mornings to do some organizing of my home, organizing the business, and still be there for my kids when they need me.

I am so excited about this company. Drawbacks are that I've never done direct sales before, this is a fairly new company that doesn't have the reputation that many others have, and that I'm a pretty busy person already. I am pretty sure I can tackle all those problems. I like talking to people, sales has never been a problem for me before. I know how to advertise myself and my products, so hopefully it won't be too long before people know about Clever Container. The busy thing? I don't think that will ever go away, but being more organized will save me time, so hopefully it will all balance out in the end.

Am I crazy? Probably. We'll see how it all works out. By the way, I haven't got a website up yet, but I'm going to have one soon. In the meantime, here's a catalog if you want to take a look. I first saw that catalog and figured that no one could go through it and not find anything that they would use.

Let's see how this story unfolds in the next few months....

Ahhh! What Happened?

The past few months have been so crazy.

I started my plan to change my body's schedule and failed. Basically from lack of sleep. I can't get up early in the morning if I can't sleep at night. So sad. I'll try again when all my kids are in school.

Frustration abounded in Girl Scouts and I finally resigned. It took a lot for me to quit. I am not a quitter by nature. It still bugs me that I had to quit, but it's a relief to not have that taking over my schedule anymore. I'd go into the whys, but I feel that people would take my stand as slander against an organization when really it was problems that I had within that organization. I also refuse to speak badly about people online.

That being said, the whole situation, while not completely gone yet, is off my shoulders and no longer taking over my schedule and my nerves.

I am finally able to focus on more important things. My church is a big one. I've always been someone who is very involved at church, but that has kind of fallen to the side a bit because of Girl Scouts. It was bugging me that anytime I had something that I wanted to do at church, I couldn't because something came up for Girl Scouts. Now I'm more able to get involved and really get to know some people better...and they can get to know me as someone who isn't stressed out constantly.

Another thing that I am so happy to be more involved in is Micah's baseball team. He plays for a Challenger team that is just awesome. I am team mom, and I was really working hard to keep up with all the work before this. Now I'm more relaxed at the games and able to remember all the things that I need to do.

There's also the fact that Ali and Zoe are starting Kindergarten in August. I'm not the type of mom who just drops her kids off at school and hopes for the best. I'm the one bugging the teachers when my kid misses something on a test (not asking why my perfect child missed something, more likely asking what we can work on at home to help them to get the question right next time). I'm that mom who makes sure that her kids are always involved in every activity even if they aren't sure that they want to. That makes me a busy mom when they are at school. Especially when my kids are at 2 different elementary schools.

Oh! Another thing just happened. Becca got accepted into the GATE program. That's the Gifted and Talented Education program. It is for kids who are not having any trouble in any of the normal education stuff (reading, writing, math, etc.) and are ready to experience more in their education. I like this. Becca has no troubles with school. Her biggest problem is in writing, and that's just in comparison to her other grades. She's advanced in everything else, and proficient in writing...sounds like her mom.

Okay, so my ducks are in a row for everything as far as school goes...I hope. Of course, then I got a call from a friend who is very involved in PTA at Becca's school and she wants me to get involved in that this year. She knows what I went through in Girl Scouts (she went through some of it with me) and wants me there...I told her I'd think about it. I've never done PTA anywhere before because I'm so torn between schools. Micah and Becca have never been at the same school, so it's hard to get involved in 2 different schools...and I don't want to be involved in one and not the other. Now Becca, Ali, and Zoe will be at one school and Micah at another.

Micah is totally taken care of at school. He's got his teacher in his SDC class (special day class...special ed) who takes care of him. She will be his teacher for the next 2 years (unless the district re-aligns the classes again and decides to send him elsewhere, but that's doubtful because they have seen how he has thrived there). He also has a 1-1 aid that is with him the whole time he is at school. Melissa is awesome and pretty much his favorite person. She will likely be the person back with him next year too. The principal at the school loves Micah too. She has been watching him grow this year and was really impressed. He also mainstreams for part of the day in a regular ed class (Melissa goes with him) and they love him there too. Any time they have field trips or anything, they invite Micah to go with them. Micah is all set up at school, and I really have no reason to worry about him.

So my dilemma is really how much to be involved officially at the girl's school. I don't know yet. I've kind of looked forward to being able to do other things while my kids are at school, and I know I will still do that, but I have a tendency to jump into things with both feet and not look around. I don't go in with that intention, but I tend to do it anyway. I'll have to be careful to relax and just help out...not easy for me.

I'm looking into Becca's next activity to be involved in too. She really liked Girl Scouts, but we aren't going to be with them anymore. She wants to see about a new sport or another club...I just have to see what's around again. I just don't want her overwhelmed with something at the same time she is taking on the GATE program too. Still, she's the kind of kid that has to be busy. Anyone have any ideas? Becca is up for anything. She is not incredibly sporty, but she's tried ballet, tap, cheer-leading, tennis, and baseball. She said maybe swimming, but I'm sure she just said that because I used to do it. She's picking up the violin right now, too. I hate to see her over-involved, but she feels like she's missing something because she's not going to be going to Girl Scouts anymore.

Anyway, that's what's going on. I'm keeping my head above water and a whole lot more relaxed...but I had to get totally stressed out first to get here.

Day One

You know that one place in your house that you've been meaning to clean, but you never really get around to it because you are so busy doing other things and you know it will take you a while to actually do it? Everyone has one of those, right? I'm not alone in this? That's what this change of schedule feels like to me. Something that is taking a whole lot of effort to get it fixed, but in the end I should be able to function even better.

Last night I went to bed at 11pm...and laid there...no sleep...just stayed in bed anyway. The snack thing was fine. I wanted to snack past my self-imposed curfew, but I stopped myself. I got up this morning knowing that my son had an early doctor appointment, so I'd have to get up anyway. I am tired this afternoon.

I am supposed to be cleaning my house. Micah's therapist is coming over this afternoon and there is a lot to clean before she gets here. I'm still sitting.

One good thing did happen, though. There was not an "extra" mess from the girls today. They have yet to get into anything that they were not allowed to today. That is huge for me. They tend to sneak in the kitchen and find things and eat them...hiding the remains. Yesterday they got into enough trouble for the rest of their lives over that very thing. I feel like my eyes have to be on both of them constantly, but they are never in the same place unless we are doing something together...making it practically impossible to do anything that they can't "help" me with. That's what most people use TV for, right? Well, they aren't allowed to watch TV right now. Grounded means mommy isn't going to do what she wants to too.

Anyway, we'll see how long this whole thing lasts. They are currently coloring so I should be busy doing something else instead of sitting here blogging, but I am a procrastinator. I am getting up to clean now.

Schedule Changes

I'm thinking of making major changes to my schedule. I've wanted to do 2 things for a few years now: get organized and get physically fit. Neither has really happened. I'm more organized than I was a few years ago, but my house is still generally a mess. I'm more fit than I was a few years ago, but not where I really want to be.

So here's the thing: I took a hard look at my schedule and found a few things. One is that I snack A LOT at night. I schedule time to clean after the kids go to bed, but it never really works out that way.

Generally I sleep in in the mornings while Tony gets the kids ready for school. This works for us. I'm not a morning person at all, and Tony does a great job getting kids out the door (except for Becca's hair, but I'm up by the time she needs that). Generally I spend a few hours cleaning in the mornings. Usually I'm cleaning whatever mess the twins were making before I was up because Daddy was distracted by getting older kids ready to go to school. Then I'm off to do whatever things I have scheduled for the day.

Anyone else see an issue here? My days are messed up! I spend time cleaning up messes instead of organizing and doing regular clean up. Then when I should be cleaning in the evenings, I'm really just eating and relaxing in front of the TV!

So, I'm setting myself a bedtime. I'm not going to be unreasonable, though. I know my body hates sleeping before 1am. Insomnia abounds before that. I am still going to try 11pm. I'm also cutting off all snacks at 9. I'd make it before that, but I know myself better than that. I'm going to want to snack after the kids go to bed at 8, and telling myself that I can't won't make this work. I've tried not snacking after dinner when trying to get rid of the insomnia, and I couldn't stick to it. I'd much rather do something that I can keep up.

The next part of that is the mornings. I've been trying to get up earlier, but it isn't working. I know it's the insomnia, so I'm sure I can't be unreasonable with that either. I'm going to just try getting up when the alarm goes off instead of poking my husband and rolling over. I will get up and shower THEN do my quiet time with God. I usually do this the other way around...then I end up falling back to sleep because I'm still in bed for my quiet time. It doesn't work.

I've actually tried this type of schedule before, but the problem was that I was off caffeine at the time too. That doesn't work for me. I became a really horrible person. I have already shaken my dependence on caffeine, so hopefully this will work. Changing the schedule while going off caffeine at the same time didn't work. One thing at a time.

While I'm changing things around, if I find extra time in there, I'm going to start a more consistent workout routine. I'm actually thinking of the couch to 5k plan. I really want to be able to run a marathon one of these days, but I already know that I can't even jog a 5k. I have to start somewhere, so I'm thinking of starting there. The thing is, there are a few plans for the couch to 5k thing, not just the ones that I've linked, so I'm going to research it further to see which would work best for me. I welcome any suggestions.

The problem with my work out thing right now is that at this point, I have to take the twins with me wherever I go unless Tony is home. This means I either get up even more early (I'm not sure I can do that yet), or exercise at night (probably not the best thing for my insomnia). I'm thinking just the schedule change for now, then I'll add the workout when I'm a little more flexible with my time. If nothing else, the twins start Kindergarten in August, and I'll have more time when they are in school.

The other thing is, if I get up and get my twins ready for the day at the same time Tony does, it eliminates whatever mess that they would make as well as make the morning smoother for him. I find it frustrating that the twins are not as self sufficient at my other kids were at that age. They more likely to make a mess if you have them get themselves breakfast, even if it's just a waffle out of the toaster. At 4, both Micah and Becca could make a waffle for themselves, but neither poured cereal or milk still. I don't know if it's that they are more clumsy or if they are just more imaginative, making the whole process of putting the waffle in the toaster and taking it out much too boring.

So, there it is. My evil plan. I'll blog on it more later. I'm going to try to start the whole thing tonight. I may not make it, though. It sort of depends on when my husband gets home from umpiring. Sometimes he's late, and I don't like going to bed without him at least home. I'm definitely going to start the no snack after 9 thing, though.

A New Favorite Blog

I have been so impressed with this blog lately that I just had to blog about it. It's called Impressyourkids.org. It's an awesome group of mothers of preschoolers who contribute to this blog.

I know, Impress your kids? Why would you feel the need to impress them? I am Supermommie, so it might be necessary sometimes...but that's not really what the name comes from. The idea is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV)

The blog is full of fun things that these women have done with their kids that impress scripture on their children. Cool, huh?

Now, my kids go to AWANA, we have learned scripture in all kinds of great ways, but I'm always happy to hear new ideas. I love it when my kids show somehow that they understand what they are learning, and these activities really help to give them practical applications for scripture even in their little lives. It's awesome to see.

So check it out. Even if you have older kids, the activities are still good. Some of the activities are a little hard for preschoolers anyway. My kids love it when I do this stuff with them.

Stolen Car, other things leaving too....

My car was stolen last Thursday night. I think Tony had the best perspective on the whole thing. You can take a look at his blog for that. The stuff that has happened around that event is really what I'm writing about.

I'd had a pretty rough time before that. Not that any one thing was all that stressful, it was just the combination of everything that made me fall apart.

One of my best friends got married. That was so awesome. There was a LOT of things to do, and I'd volunteered to help quite a bit. I love helping to plan that kind of thing. It was really cool to be a part, but there was a lot of work. That was thing number one, and while I really loved helping, it was in the mix of things that overloaded me.

Just before the wedding was my brother's visit. Also something really cool, but stressful.

Just before that was GS Cookie season and all the drama that came with that.

Okay, there's all the major stuff.

I had also volunteered (before things started getting stressful) to work in Children's Church at my church until the person who regularly did it came back (she had bronchitis and then her first grandchild was born so she went to go visit her). This is something fun for me, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal.

Then there's drama that happened over a babysitter for the wedding. One person who I called actually told me "I don't want to babysit your kids because I don't like them." That person will never be on my list anymore. I'm over it, but it added stress.

There was also a bunch of mis-communication with others that surrounded that whole incident that never really resolved well, so that added stress.

Then came a bunch of mistakes that I made. I'm pretty sure I just wasn't thinking clearly because of all the other stress that was going on at that moment, so I ended up adding more stress onto the whole thing myself.

All of this is happening when baseball season is starting and I'm starting to lose my husband's presence (as I do every year, so it's not like I'm not used to it). He's starting to be the umpire that he is, as well as getting more involved in the Challenger Division where Micah participates in baseball. It's awesome. I was trying to be involved with that too, being Team Mom, but because of all the circumstances, I've made a lousy team mom so far.

So, it was after the wedding, but before the reception (they were a week apart) when my husband's car was stolen. In it was everything keeping me together. We'd practically lived in that car for a while. It was really full of important things.

I lost it. I went around Friday (the car was stolen on a Thursday night) taking care of things, but I woke up Saturday morning without any sight in my left eye. Honestly, I was expecting to go paralyzed (as I've done before) so this didn't bug me as much. I told my friend who I was supposed to take pictures for her reception that I couldn't, but I'd be able to handle everything else. The baking of the cake and making of decorations began. It was supposed to be a 2 day thing, Friday and Saturday working on everything, but Friday was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. Saturday evening was the reception, and I was going and it would be beautiful. My mom saved the day, helping me with the cake, and there was a ton of help from other friends to make the decorations work. I was so glad that my father-in-law was the one who did the food, so I could count on him to just take care of everything in the kitchen without having to worry.

Sunday I went to church, determined (as I usually am) to make everything stay consistent for my kids, so I went, though I couldn't see much at this point. I emailed the neurologist, but knew he wasn't going to get back to me until Monday, and I had things to do. My husband had to be at work on Monday, so he needed a car. I just couldn't be his taxi and someone had to pick up kids from school (somehow I was going to get them in my mind).

Monday morning, we all pile into the car, drop off the two older kids at school and go check out the car. It's in my name, so I have to take care of the paperwork. We went to the police station then to the towing place. We paid them all way too much just to take the burnt up piece of junk off our hands.

I still can't see much.

I get a message from my neurologist. I can come see him, but I really need to relax. It's probably stress...duh. If everything didn't go back to normal soon, I figured I'd go see him.

I took the rest of the day off. Most of the day I spent in bed while the kids watched TV. Tony umped that night, so we had bean and cheese burritos for dinner that the kids prepared themselves. It worked, and they had fun.

The next day I knew that if I got up and did anything I would never get past the stress. I stayed in bed most of the day. The twins enjoyed making their own pb&j for lunch and I relaxed. Micah's therapist came that afternoon, so I didn't have to work on homework. Everything worked out well. Tony came home and made dinner, so the kids finally had a healthy meal. I relaxed. Sure, dishes are piled up and I still have to clean a few messes, but things are getting done over time.

This morning I woke up and found that my sight had returned. I could really relax again. No worries. I want my sight to stay with me, so I wasn't going to try to "catch up" today. Still relaxing, just getting a few things done at a time.

I get frustrated when MS slows me down, but at the moment I'm pretty sure it's a good thing. I had a real reason to sit and relax for a while. God knew exactly what needed to happen to make me stop and relax.

Now here I sit, my son frustrated at me because I can't go to the store to buy him some Chex because I don't have a bank card (my wallet was in the car that was stolen) and no cash. My husband is off to umpire this evening, so I really can't do anything to help him (again). All will be fine. Time to distract with video games.

Homework and the Manipulative Kid

My son and I argued for quite a long time about his homework today.

Micah informed me that his homework was too easy, and since he wasn't dumb, he shouldn't have to do it. Personally, I find this to be a reasonable argument if the point of homework was to learn something. However, I'm pretty sure that that isn't what the point of the worksheets that his teacher sends home. She sends home tons of math problems. Simple stuff. Also his spelling and vocabulary words for him to write and define. He also has a reading log. It's pretty much the same thing every day. These aren't things for you to learn at home, they are things to practice so that you can do them faster and remember them at school. I told him about the real reason for his homework. He didn't like that.

Micah gave me a new argument and tried to establish a deal. If he could do his homework in 5 minutes, he shouldn't have to do it the next day. Pretty good argument, right? I thought it was good.

I started the timer. Three minutes, he had all the worksheets done. He pulled out the reading log and reads the top of the page "Read for 15 minutes".

Did I know that was there? Yeah...

I know, I kind of manipulated my son a bit, but after 3 hours of "I don't want to do my homework!" I feel justified. Homework is done.

Plans and Family

I love having my family visit. It's really nice to have them come and play with us. I love having my niece and nephew around. It's been so long that I hadn't even met my little niece yet and they hadn't met the twins.

Before I even begin to talk about the things that have happened, I have to say that I haven't always been this neurotic. I'm not a planner by nature, my life has made me that way. My son requires a whole lot of planning. He needs preparation so that we don't have meltdowns or chasing him because he ran away. Then there's the fact that I have 4 kids. While that may seem a bit crazy, it's really not with proper preparation.

That being said, I went crazy last week.

My brother Tony is the anti-planner. When he said that he was going to come down here and just wing it when it came to plans, I thought to myself that this would be okay, as long as I knew the day before what we were going to do the next day.

That didn't happen.

I think the worst case of anti-planning was when we were on our way to one activity when I got a phone call from him saying "why don't we just go to the beach instead?" I put up a few reasons why that wouldn't be my favorite choice and he just went around them. I went to the store and got my kids their swimsuits for this season (I needed to do that anyway) and then went back home to prepare for a trip to the beach.

I was freaking out the whole time too because the last time I'd been to the beach with my kids Micah had run away and we found him 2 miles away ( just realized I hadn't blogged about that particular incident, which is kind of weird considering the fact that it was so major...basically Micah wandered away when we weren't looking, the life guards found him an hour later 2 miles away and got him to get into their truck by telling him that the truck was going to Michigan...yeah, that made me so comfortable to know). It happened last summer, and I didn't take him back to the beach after that. I just couldn't.

Tony may be the anti-planner, but he cares about kids. He may freak me out for lack of planning, but he knew where all 6 kids were all the time. We made sure we took my mom also, which made it 4 adults and 6 kids. Not a bad ratio really.

Overall, everything turned out fine, but I just didn't enjoy myself as much without preparation.

Winging it with my kids just isn't my specialty. I seem like a pretty laid back person to some people, but really, 4 kids require planning in order to make my life even close to sane. I'm flexible in a lot of things, but I need at least a few hours notice for drastic changes in plans. Yeah, I totally blame my kids. On my own I don't usually plan anything. I don't need a plan when I'm just taking care of me. Those occasions are so seldom, though, that I don't usually have the opportunity to relax like that. I have 4 kids, and I like it that way. My kids have caused me to grow in the area of planning. I just don't think it's a bad thing even if it makes me seem neurotic when my family comes around. I'll take my "planner" label and go with it.