MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday October 11th - Monday October 17th

- 10/13 CJ had his last day of occupational therapy today. If I had known it was going to be his last day, I would have been sure to take him, but we weren't sure - I thought Heather was just going to reevaluate him and get back to us about his progress - so Bryce took him and I stayed home with Mattie and Powell, thank goodness. It's already hard enough to keep Mattie entertained and distracted enough to keep her out of the therapy area (because it looks like an awesome playground or a gymnastics studio), but then to have Powell there as well and to possibly have to feed him or something, I just wasn't up for it yet. So I missed CJ's last day. Part of me is sad - I didn't get to thank Heather in person and I didn't get any pictures - but the part of me that hates goodbyes and always feels uncomfortable is glad I missed it (is that awful?).

- As far as CJ's progress, Heather said that she has loved working with CJ because it has made such a big difference in such a short amount of time. Heather doesn't get to work with very many kids who are borderline motor delayed - she usually works with much more serious cases - and so to have CJ come in with just a few minor things to work on to get him up to speed with his peers, and to see him reach his goals in such a short amount of time, I think was really rewarding for Heather. We've felt very blessed to be able to send him to Heather because we saw the difference in his confidence and his abilities in just a few sessions. It's been remarkable, and now he's totally where he needs to be. Heather did tell us to call in 6-9 months if we feel we want to reevaluate him, or before then if we have any concerns. We're hoping that the next time we see Heather it's under non-therapeutic circumstances :)

- So I went to the grocery store with all 3 kids for the first time this week. Of course, all I did was grab a few items, but it went better than I expected. So I guess the trick is to keep our shopping lists short.

- CJ has had some struggles at school, namely eating things he's not supposed to (like paint and play dough), taking things from other kids, and getting time-outs for not listening. Don't get me wrong, he's not a total trouble-maker, and his teacher, Miss Sarah, told us all the kids struggle with these things, but it's still things we want to work on. Sooo, in order to motivate him to avoid these things, we've set up a reward system. It started with one day - if he could go one day without having any problems, then we would make cupcakes. Then we went to two days - if he could go two days in a row without any issues, then we would go to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. Check and check. Now we're on to three days (which is a whole week since he has preschool MWF). If he can go a whole week without any issues, then we'll go bowling at the end of the week. It seems to be working. Hopefully we can keep him motivated. I just wish it worked that easy at home...

- 10/12 Bryce had Scouts tonight and since I owed CJ an ice cream cone at McDonald's so he could play on the slide, we sent Powell with Bryce and I took Mattie and CJ. As we were all getting ready to leave, CJ realized that Powell was going with Daddy and started to cry. At first, we thought it was because he wanted to go with Bryce to Scouts (he's always asking). So I started asking him if he'd rather go with Daddy and not get an ice cream cone or if he'd rather get an ice cream cone at McDonald's. He chose McDonald's, but as the crying persisted, we realized that it wasn't because CJ wanted to go with Daddy, but it was because Powell was leaving! CJ just didn't want to be away from Powell! And the crying turned into hysterics as Bryce put Powell in the car. CJ chased them down to tell them he loved them and heavily sobbed as they backed out of the garage. Then he ran to his window and wailed some more as he watched them drive away. It was pretty dramatic...and I was laughing so hard I was crying (partly because I was trying so hard to stifle my laugh)! Is that awful? I just couldn't believe how emotional CJ was about his little baby brother going with Daddy for an hour. It was quite sweet and hilarious at the same time. I wish we had it one video because we would have won AFV for sure!!

- We're torn on what to do about Mattie and her bedtime habits. She doesn't fall asleep as quickly as CJ, so she tends to stay awake and play. We've been letting her do it because she stays in their room, doesn't turn on the light, and plays very quietly so she doesn't wake CJ up. But it's getting out of hand now where she's practically destroying their room taking so many toys out, and getting pretty loud as she's playing, and staying up until 11 PM. So we've got to reign it in. I'm especially torn because when she doesn't nap, she falls asleep quicker most of the time. But I think she still needs a nap because when she does nap, she sleeps for like 3-4 hours. Of course, maybe the 3-4 hour nap is because she didn't go to sleep until 11 PM the night before...or maybe the 3-4 hour nap is why she's up until 11 PM. Chicken or the egg?? Anyway, I guess we're gonna just have to experiment - shorter naps? no nap? going to bed before CJ? earlier nap? I dunno. We'll see...

- I'm going blind. Well, not really...at least not yet. But I feel like it. And my vision is most definitely worse. It's like the day I gave birth a portion of my vision was pushed out too, because I seriously cannot see as well. Mainly on the computer and tv (and other electronics, like the microwave or stove clocks, etc). And I've been getting a lot of headaches lately. Ugh. I have a pair of glasses that I got a couple of years ago for night-time driving, and they really help when I'm on the computer or watching tv. But my darn pride is really getting in the way. I'm already 30, with stretchmarks, spider veins, sun spots, and laugh lines. Do I really have to be wearing glasses too?!

- We went on a date this week for the first time in ages! We doubled with the Bromiley's (I stopped to pick something up from Lana, and after talking for 10 minutes, I realized how much I love Lana and miss seeing her now that I'm not in the Primary presidency, so we arranged a double that night) and it was such a blast! But what's not fun is how stinkin' expensive it was! Not exaggerating, after dinner, a movie, and a babysitter, we spent almost $100. How people with our income can go on a date once a week, I don't know. Guess we're gonna have to resort to "college dating" and keep it free and at home. Lame. Ok, not lame, but it's just that after being home all day with the kids, one of the best parts of date night is getting out of the house!

- Oh, and by the way, this "no milk" thing is extra hard. I haven't been as good about it as I should, but I really do think it makes a difference, so I'm recommitting!

- CJ participated in his first Primary Program this past Sunday (which was also my first Primary Program as the Primary chorister). Even though we had worked on it all week, and he had his line memorized, when it came time to actually say it at the podium into the mike - "The words of Christ tell us all things that we should do" - he froze during the rehearsal on Saturday. But like most new things for him, he just needed a little practice. So after the rehearsal was over, I stayed with him and had him practice several times in the mike so he could get used to it. Then the next day, since Primary is first, he got to practice some more, so he was definitely ready to say his line when his big moment came. Even though he needed a little prompting when he actually got to the mike, he said his line nice and loud into the mike, and we were very proud (and a little relieved :). Unfortunately, our pride soon turned to embarrassment as our kid decided to be the one who entertained the congregation with this antics of eating paper, getting out of his seat, shouting out several times to Daddy that he wanted gum, singing super loud (ok, I was actually a little proud of that :), and moving seats. Add that to Mattie running up to the stand a couple of times and having her own issues of lack of reverence (and me not being able to do much because I'm leading all the music so it was all on Bryce) and you can imagine how exhausted Bryce and I were by the time sacrament meeting was over. Phew! Mental note: never sit on the very front row!

- 10/17 Mattie said a prayer all by herself today! It was over lunch and she said it perfectly, addressing Heavenly Father, thanking Him for the food and asking Him to bless it, then closing in the name of Jesus Christ. It was wonderful to hear!

- Powell is 1 month old today!

Happy Monday!