Thursday, October 22, 2015

Thankful Thursday


This week I am thankful for:

1.  Stretchy laces.  Kai does know how to tie his shoes but prefers not to ("there's no time for it") so I am thankful for these kinds of laces.  Koen may or may not know how to tie his shoes. Ahem. Bad mom just got him through Step 1; fine motor skills are his biggest struggle so if he doesn't need to learn right now, who cares.


2. Parent teacher conferences. It's pretty wild hearing about their strengths and weaknesses because they are pretty much a mix of ours--it's very interesting. I'm thankful for teachers that love our kids and know how to encourage and challenge them.  I'm thankful that Kai loves school and that Koen doesn't hate it :)

3. Chiropractors.  I'm really just thankful for all of the options that we have available to us.  I took Koen to the chiropractor this past week and he did so well.  His tailbone needed a little realignment and he did a great job tolerating it all...he was pretty pumped that the chiropractor thought he was quite muscular :) He also liked that the bed went up and down just like a Disneyland ride.   I'm also taking Koen to the optometrist this week as recommended by his teacher.  

4. Nya singing her life.  She will just sing in the car "I love the mountains, they are so beautiful! " or whatever else she is looking at.  At home, her sing songy voice will say, " I can't find my little lamb, where is it?" etc.  Her voice is so sweet and instead of talking about what she sees, she'll sing it.


5. Paw Patrol.  All four kids will watch it together so I appreciate that.  Also, they love watching the Leap Frog videos on Netflix (about words and numbers and sounds) which are so great for the little ones.  We don't watch TV all day long, even though it sounds like it, but we do have a half hour of down time before bed where everyone cuddles on the couch to watch a show together.  


6. Fall leaves. Gorgeous.


7.  Monday morning ballet.  It's really fun for me to watch.  There was a moment where Nya teared up and said "I can't do it" (trying a plie)--my boys were never insecure like that (that I remember) so I wasn't sure what to do! I just held her hand and we moved on to the next move together.  She is definitely a lot more clingy these days and I'm not sure if it's just being three, the youngest, or having our Little One (and therefore less attention and sleep.)


8.  Books. I love getting lost in books.  I want more time and energy to read.  And exercise. But definitely read.

9.  A parenting class.  I went last night to Dr. Vanessa Lapointe's "Discipline without Damage" and I thought it was really informative.  I feel guilty that with less patience, time and energy these days, we are quicker to send the boys to the basement and out of our hair.  I know they want/need to connect (especially our Koen) so we are going to be more intentional about this.

10.  The chance to see Kai run at cross country yesterday.  He worked hard over the past two months on it and pushed himself and was pretty happy with the results.  I love seeing him do his best and being active.  I have pictures of him actually running but there are other kids in the photos so I'll just share the ribbon photo.


11.  Slow-release melatonin.  It is not a magic pill.  It allows a child to sleep for about 6 hours....well, it should.  It kind of does.  Our Little One is still up throughout the night but with three nights of slow-release melatonin (which we put in milk before bed), there is usually some solid-ish sleep from about 10-3.  So, this is better but still not wonderful.  I'll take it.  We can still up the dosage but are being careful about that.

So folks, there you have it!  What is one thing you are thankful for this week?

Love,
Louise

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:35 AM

    I am thankful for Spencer and his job flexibility. He is able to go to Addison's class this morning where she gets to be the Citizen of the Day and then I am going on their field trip in the afternoon. It will be a bit crazy of a day but I'm thankful that we're able to be there for things like this!

    A good book that I'm still reading is Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. It's about 5 women in the Bible and it's non fiction but it really brings their stories to life. I highly recommend it!

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    1. A flexible job does sound lovely! That is one hard thing about a teacher's schedule--yes, awesome holidays BUT must be at specific times (expensive times) and Gary works while the kids are in school so could never see them do anything there. Citizen of the Day--what a fun name! We just call it "special helper". I do love Francine Rivers!! Now to find time to read :)

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    2. Anonymous7:42 AM

      In play school they're just the "leader" and that's the day their parent brings snack.

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  2. Yay, glad the melatonin is making things a bit better! Baby steps...

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    1. Baby steps are better than backward steps!

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  3. Anonymous12:33 PM

    Hi Louise
    I've been following your blog for a couple of years. Just wanted to say how much I enjoy it. Thanks.

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  4. I have a pair of those laces (wait...I mean Ezra does). We tried them and decided it would be easier to learn how to tie shoelaces. I'll give you his because we won't use them!
    seriously...little girls in ballet...always melts me!!! Taeya used to sing her way through life at that age too...SO sweet!
    And I am with you on getting lost in a book and wanting more time/energy for it. And on that note, I need to go wash dishes so I can read guilt free for 20 minutes before falling asleep tonight :)

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