Our Week

This past week has been busy for us (do we ever not say that?). We started our week with some fun art projects. This first fall project was one where we started by rubbing leaves with crayons on a large roll of paper. This was a nice project because all of the kids got great results no matter their age. Here is a picture of the kiddos working on it.

Everyone rubbing away.

After we had filled the page with our rubbings we mixed some food coloring and painted in the blank spaces. The final results was beautiful and hangs in our dinning room. Here are some close-up shots.

Todd worked with the kids on another leaf project that came out great. Here are some shots of step one in the project...



OK now for the whining portion of this post....my week has been less than ideal and I just need to vent about it.

Shannen spent a good portion of the week and weekend with my parents getting some much needed one-on-one time (which was great thank-you mom and dad!). She is really starting to start to need her space and exert her own identity lately. I know it is natural and good I just wish she could express her needs in a less emotionally volatile way....but I guess that comes with age. I have been trying all week to express my needs/frustrations in a calm and balanced way and if it is hard for me at 30-something I guess it is ok that it is hard for her at 9....I will just keep telling myself that.

Moving on....Todd and I had a conference planned this week in Boston. This is one we have been going to for years and we were both really looking forward to it. We have not had much time to work together lately with homeschooling and the economy issues making child-care help non-existent. I was really looking forward to some "work time". On our way to Boston however all (really all) the lights came on on the dash of my van....it seems to be a minor repair (thank goodness) but it freaked me out anyway. We decided to keep going (spoke to a friend who works on these vans....he said it would not blow up) anyway we were not 2 mins. down the road when a tire blew....ok universe I get it head home. So I missed the conference (Todd did go and ran into some important people in the evening he would have missed during the day) and I was really bummed.

Now to health portion of the post....Instead of making it to our conference I took my 3 year old to the doctors for his SECOND dose of antibiotics since he got his ear tubes put in a month ago. I really feel bad for the little guy...and I feel bad for me because he was whinny and grumpy all week. I thought we had everything under control with the $50 antibiotic (thank-you health care reform) and breathing treatments but I was wrong. On Wednesday we got a call from Collin's school....ran to get him and waited until 10 pm to decide that the extreme pain he was in (stomach) really did not seem normal. We (ok I) took him to the E.R. (until 1am). He of course stopped screaming as soon as we hit the E.R. He had been screaming for at least 5 hrs...no food, laying like dead on the couch in between screaming like a banshee, and nothing made him feel better...even T.V. We finally came out (did I telly you at 1 am?) with NO appendicitis thank-you thank-you thank-you (I am jumping up and down for no surgery....really). It seems that all is well with everyone now (knock on wood).

Now to the patience portion of the post (mine not the kids). On Friday I missed out on my one-on-one time with Morgan (long story...and I was able to make the day up) and my night out by myself (which I kind of needed). So my patience has been thin and things seemed to be thwarting me all week. So today I spent 2 hrs deep breathing trying to get Tristan to sit or a 3 minute time out all the while he is screaming, kicking, and alternately saying "no I wont sit", "this is lame" (thanks sisters), and "I will be done NOW". We have been having a huge problem with him screaming no at everything asked of him....and I had had enough. The whole thing was draining on both of us and exactly what needed to happen but it took all my meditation techniques not to kill him :) I thought I had exhausted all my patience but no....Shannen came home and reacted emotionally to the change of scenery and I spent about 30 mins. outside of our church's Thanksgiving dinner (in the freezing cold....no jacket) waiting for her get control so we could go back in....I am exhausted and in need of a re-charge.

I have been posting on Facebook something I am Thankful for it was an exercise a friend of mine introduced me to and I am really glad I had to do this this past week. It really kept things in perspective. Did we have a bad week....yes but was I able to still find things to be thankful for yes....it was hard at times....but I don't think that is always a bad thing. Sometimes it is necessary to look hard at what we have so we can really see it. So thank-you Bev for introducing me to the exercise, thank-you to the kids for making me a better person by testing me (even when I don't like it), and thank-you to my family and friends for giving me strength and support when I need it. I am looking forward to next week....hoping it will be a little less eventful but if it is not I will get more deep breathing practice.