Ask and you shall receive....

Not a close up, but you get what you get, right? At least that's what I always tell the boys :)

Perhaps...

...our family spends too much time on the Wii??? :) It was an entire family theme, as I was Princess Peach, complete with long blonde wig. Mom 2 took a picture of the 4 of us, but it's on hubby's camera, so I'll post it after I get it from him. The highlight of the evening was when we had a gaggle of teenage girls run up to us and ask if we would pose with them for a photo. LOL!

Please note that the boys are sporting inflatable bellies. Hubby's is au naturel ;P

Is the time flying or what???

I found this display when I went shopping the other day and it just made me stop in my tracks, because while rational brain knows that it's September and Fall is coming, I just wasn't prepared to deal with the reality of it.

This means Christmas is just around the corner. It seems like summer only started last week!

Moments like these are the reminders to me that yes, time flies. Yes, we're busy. But if we don't slow down and take moments to enjoy where we're at, we'll look back and say, what happened? Where did the time go?

So I went home and hugged my boys and we spent the time talking about what we're going to do together this fall.

The Juggling Act of a Working Mom

It is amazing how simple life was before kids. I had a clean house. I wore makeup every day (okay, most days). I had a social life. I sent Christmas cards.

Today, I am wearing my hair down, straight ironed, and a skirt, and I'm thinking this is some big to do. LOL.

Having hubby at home with the boys is a huge help. He does dishes. And laundry. No dusting, sorting, straightening or throwing stuff away, though. :P He looks really panic stricken when I suggest that he could do that.

He's offered to help with cooking and shopping. If I write out a list, plan the meals, give him the recipes and tell him what to do. 1) I actually look forward to that part of my day, and 2) after all the prep work, I might as well do it myself. LOL

The best part of having him home is so he can parent. Take the boys to the pool. The Children's Museum. The playground. The boys have had a fun filled summer with their dad. So many wonderful memories. I might have some of it scrapbooked by Big K's graduation.

Today, I enjoy my good hair day. And blissfully ignore the fact that the house is a MESS. I'll do some cleaning instead of putting on makeup tomorrow :)

Snow

Lots of it. This picture shows the drift at the deck door yesterday. More than 3 feet of snow there. Dog was like, "no way, nuh uh, fuhgettaboutit", and walked away after not having peed for 12 hours. I didn't blame her. LOL. After today, totals in the metro are 13-18 inches, with drifts taller than my 7yo. (I know because I saw him in them in the backyard. Crazy.)

A new challenge at our house....

Not even sure where to start. Our 6 year, R, is in first grade. He started a little on the young side, but the alternative was holding him back, and we thought that would be worse for his academics. He's a bright boy, very easily bored, and needs to be challenged. Our pre-school teachers were telling us he was already bored. So he entered Kindergarten in mid-August, about 3 weeks before his 5th birthday (cut-off here is mid-October).

He has struggled throughout school, not with academic accomplishments, but with focus, concentration, and self control. We have brought up the ADHD issue several times with school and with our ped, but have been told to wait and observe, as boys tend to be more immature, and have more trouble controlling himself. With discipline at home and conversations with his teacher, we thought there was improvement.

Today was, I think, a big sign that this is not typical 1st grade behavior. He acted out so badly in school today that the teacher, when he called, actually sounded angry. I can understand. It's not just counter-productive to our son's learning, but to the entire classroom. What's frustrating is that he's apparently been showing a decline in his improvements, and the teacher didn't call us before today.

I get the distinct idea that the school will never suggest ADHD. Hubby thinks it's because it qualifies our son for special education services. Regardless, after having to pick our son up early from school today we have a call into our ped for referral to have him evaluated.

I'm also concerned, as I read, that perhaps we have some dietary issues. Our children, if you read this blog, can probably assume eat very well. In comparison to our neighbor's children, they eat very little processed food. We do, however, allow small amount of candy, and some processed treats, like granola bars and the occasional box of sugary cereal.

What's disturbing is that R's outburst today chimes in with the exact day that dad opened a box of Cocoa Puffs for a special breakfast (they NEVER get that), along with yogurt drinks and scrambled eggs.

I keep reading about reactions to foods that can cause red ears and flushed cheeks. Both of our sons get this ALL the time. They are also both VERY fair redheads. I got the same thing as a kid. Our doctors tell us it's a normal reaction that most people get, you just get to see it more easily through the porcelain skin.

So, we have some work to do. Definitely going to be doing a lot of reading and research and talking to the doctors. I have always taken a very middle of the road approach on the medication subject--- not quick to medicate, but in some cases it is necessary and useful. Need to really see how we can impact this in other ways first.

Would sure love to hear from you if have similar experiences, and how your family dealt with them. Please leave a comment!