school

I think it's safe to say that my buddy doesn't like school. If you ask him, he'll choose home over school every time. I wish I could blame school but I'm pretty sure it's not them. He has an amazing team that works tirelessly to keep him focused and engaged. The problem is he just doesn't want to.




My buddy sees school as an endless day of doing what other people want him to. Plus it's a lot of work. He has a classroom teacher and a special ed teacher both demanding that he learn. Then there's the speech therapist, OT, PT and psychologist all pushing him to be his best.

On his progress reports over and over I read things like: He requires consistent encouragement to succeed with tasks. He can complete 4/5 assignments within a session when he feels healthy and the reinforcer is meaningful to him. Unable to cooperate with this activity. Fluctuates significantly depending on behavior.




I know how smart my buddy is. I know that he is performing way below his potential. It's really frustrating. Will he always be so unmotivated at school? Will he ever want to have a job? Is there something I could have done better - pushed him harder, made fewer excuses?

I remember loving elementary school and looking forward to seeing my friends and learning new things. School should be something that puts a smile on a child's face. I hate that is's such a struggle for him. I wish I could observe him all day without him knowing to see what it is really like for him. I get a call at least once a week from the nurse that he was really mad and kicked a wall or hit his head or hurt himself in some way. It both breaks my heart and makes me want to shake him and say, "Buck up. Life is full of hard work"

Not knowing how to help your child is so hard.

style

Once upon a time, I had a very specific parenting style. Mostly before I became a mom, but even when I had two little ones just 15 months apart, I had ideals and high hopes. I made baby food and read them books every day. I had a schedule for cleaning and cooked meals. We attended play groups and story time. I bathed them daily.

Somewhere along the way, exhaustion, bickering and constantly being needed beat the standards right out of me. Now my parenting style is more of I Don't Wanna. For example, I think rara would love to take a dance class with her little friend, but when I think about signing her up, paying for it and then having to be somewhere at a certain time every week... well I just don't wanna.



For me it all comes down to time. For the past 8 years almost all my time has been given to my children. Newborns are needy. Newborn plus toddler - forget about it. Then there was Birth to 3 and endless doctor's appointments. Then kids in different schools at different times. Then another newborn and a long drive to school. There were nap times and snack times and early bedtime. So many demands on my time.

Now I drop off the big kids at school and have 7 hours to fill. I find that I'm feeling selfish with my time. I am more than happy to drop the laundry and meet a friend at the library, but I don't want many commitments. I want to choose if we just take the dog for a walk and hang around the house or maybe we have a bit of an adventure.



Of course that guilt as you scroll through Facebook and see all the kids and their sports, theater or art classes. Am I holding my kids back? I was involved in gymnastics and soccer. Are my kids missing out on something? But I don't want to spend my weekends driving here and there and watching a sporting event for one while trying to entertain the other two. I just don't wanna.

The weekends are the time we spend together as a family. To me that is more important than anything else. There will come a day when my kids are going off with friends and no longer want to spend all weekend just hanging out together. Plus they are getting a happy relaxed mom. So until the eye rolling starts when I suggest we all go pick apples together, I'm sticking with this parenting style.

joy

Turning 40 brought me a surprising dose of clarity and confidence. I lived a good part of my life feeling insecure, not wanting to stand out and being worried what others thought of me. I wore the clothes I thought I should and kept opinions to myself. I was making choices based on what I thought I should choose and had no idea I was doing it.

Then I heard this organizational guru talk about how you should surround yourself with things that bring you joy. For example, you pile all of your clothes on the floor then one by one, you touch each piece and ask yourself if it brings you joy. Plain and simple, if it brings you joy then keep it.

I realized that none of my shirts brought me joy. I wore them but hated the way they felt on my body. So I bought the shirts I really wanted - ones that felt good to put on and left me feeling confident. I feel like this little change has seeped into all parts of my life.

I'm a big fan of a daily phone conversation with my BFF just complaining and getting it all out. But I think there is a fine line of getting it out and laughing over it (because laughing brings joy) versus focusing on the suckiness and giving it power. The times in my life where I threw pity parties for myself were times I wasn't happy.

Photography has brought me such incredible joy. In the past I tried sketching, crafting and painting. I could do them all, but they left me stressed and produced no joy. For years I had no creative outlet. Finding one little thing that I can do just for me has made such a powerful impact. I don't have the luxury of a lot of time without little ones to look after, so finding something that includes them has been perfect.

Plus being able to look back at their little faces - joy to the thousandth degree.

Of course I believe in moderation and sometimes life just sucks. There are times when you just need to hide and wait for it to pass. I believe that if you focus on the joy in your life and actively search out things that make you happy, it can only help.

Here are a few moments that bring joy to me. May you find something today that brings you joy.

school

A new school year has started. Just like with everything else in life, I totally misjudged how the change would affect each child.

My buddy worked so hard all summer - between home school and summer school that he has had his best transition yet. Sure, there's been some testing of new people in his life. I had to send in the book I made so the teacher could read it to his classmates. It talks about my buddy and Down syndrome and why he is the way he is. I guess he knocked down some block towers that the kids were building and they were understandably upset.





Big sis, however, spent many nights in tears. Her teacher last year had a personality that really meshed with big sis plus her two BFFs were in that class. This year is really different. Big sis is slow to warm up and has been keeping it together at school then completely losing it at home. It's been really hard on all of us. Hard enough that I took a book out of the library about highly sensitive children.

I volunteered to be room mom (which big sis loves) and now I'm the official class photographer (which I love). My first official business was a head shot of all the kids. They all look a little like this:





I know that big sis will adjust soon enough, it's just so hard to see your kids upset.

Rara, on the other hand, LOVES school and wishes she could go more than twice a week. She is equally happy at home with just me and some peace and quiet. The fighting this summer was so out of control, I think everyone is happy to have a little space. Watching rara so excited when she gets to be a big kid then just running into school is the best. (And yay for a teenie bit of me time)

the other day

The other day I shouted and every little thing made me mad. The other day I made excuses for why I was being so mean. The other day I went to bed hating how I behaved. I worried all night that you would remember the worst part of me and forget the best part of me.

Today I want to talk to you about being human and feeling all these feelings. How some days it's hard not to act like a jerk. How you can see yourself acting like a jerk and not be able to stop. I want to talk about emotions and how difficult they can be to control.

But I don't have the answers. In fact, I may change my mind tomorrow. Being a human is complicated. Trying to figure out how to be your best while raising little humans to be their best is extra challenging. 

Today I will work on my nice skills. Talking to you the way I wish you would talk to me. Listening a little closer. Finding things to make me smile. Doing my best to erase the other day. Because part of being human is to forgive. While I'm sure you've already forgiven me, I still need to forgive myself.

None of us are perfect and some days we're not even on the same page. But we are in this crazy life together.

hello again

I unintentionally stopped writing this summer. It was a bit of a challenging summer with an insane amount of fighting between all the kids. I home schooled my buddy almost every day. We made attempt number two at potty training and are back in pull-ups - so that's how that went. There was a week of summer camp and then summer school. Every day seemed so long, but it all went by relatively quickly.

Here are a few of the highlights of summer and hopefully I will be back to writing soon.


tushies in bathing suits




sun dresses (and the Special Olympics medal she wears all the time)



rock throwing



inflatable pool in the backyard



mismatched outfits and favorite dolls



adventures with the whole family




convincing the hubby to take some pictures together (even if I don't love any of them)

no glasses!!!!! (the highlight of the summer for sure)



rare photo of her smiling (and not scowling at me)

summer not-so-fun

Sometimes I feel like having a kid with special needs robs you of super summer fun. If I had my choice, we'd be lounging in our PJ's until we felt like getting dressed. Pulling every toy we own into the middle of the living room. Spending the morning at a park or finding some water to splash in. Planning a big weekly adventure like the beach or the zoo. Hanging about and exploring new outdoor places. Finding the perfect spot to throw rocks into the water and visiting often.




Instead I find myself driving back and forth to camp - to work on social skills and following directions. Teaching my buddy home school to keep him in the groove. Making him practice writing and reading. Using the same pecs cards they use in school and reinforcing the 'first then' board. Getting moving four days a week so he can be to summer school on time.



All these things that I have to do just so my buddy won't regress and have such a hard time transitioning back to school in August. And yet it never seems like enough. There are too many things that he needs to improve. So many more ways I could push him. There is a fine line of encouraging him to be his very best... and just letting him be. I'm more of a let it be girl.



So I will take those 4 half days and 3 full days and cram as much summer fun in as possible. Stay in our jammies on some days and have grand adventures on others. Rest assured there will be plenty of bubbles to pop in your sister's face, chalk to cover the ground and searches for the perfect place to play in the water.




More good news... she finally conquered her fear of the sprinkler. As long as this is as high as it goes.