I know, I suck at blogging… Lol

Well, clearly I am terrible at this! Almost 7 months have passed since my last post, and much has happened, but I’ll try to summarize.

Jose graduated from Kindergarten (such a cute day they had for us proud relatives!) and lost a couple of teeth.  He also worked hard at the Accelerated Reader program he was accepted into early, and made great strides.  His capabilities in that area blow us away!

We went on a month-long road trip all over the country (Iowa, Michigan, Texas, back home) and SURVIVED!  Squishy couldn’t wait to get home by the end, and even asked if he could just go home by himself, ha ha. Jose, on the other hand, asked if we could go around the country a second time.

We had a great time on our trip.  Stayed in tons of hotels, but saw no bedbugs (thank God!)  Jose got to shoot a rifle.  Squishy and Jose both went to the Iowa Children’s Museum, and there were no broken limbs this time.  The whole family participated in a Murder Mystery dinner – totally awesome.  We thought Squishy had gotten into the Blue Hawaiians, but it turned out to be a Dum Dum.  **whew**  Celebrated Grandma Rosie’s 90th birthday, took in a Kernels game and fireworks on the 4th of July, and spent tons of time with everyone.

In Michigan we celebrated a bunch of birthdays – Jose turned 6 in June, Squishy turned 3 in July, and at least three other MI relatives had birthdays, too, so there was a ton of partying going on!  We rode 4-wheelers, went fishing from the canoe in the lake, make water features, went to a water park, and just generally made a bunch of good memories.

In Texas, we got the privilege of meeting a wonderful soul from Ethiopia who is soon to be part of our larger family.  He adored Squishy’s hair and was a complete blessing to be around.  Can’t wait to see him again!  We also were thrilled to have a family member get baptized in the ocean while we were there.  Really cool!

We got the boys hamsters for their big birthday present once we were back in town – they named them Chocolate Cherry (Choco), and Solomon.  We also had their pictures done when we came home, because Uncle Dude bought them AWESOME Naval outfits.

Both boys started school shortly after returning home, and Mike went back to teaching for his 30th(?) year.  Mainly computers this year, which he’s not thrilled about, but knows the Lord has a reason for everything.  Squishy is in the 3′s class at the same preschool Jose went to, and Jose is in first grade with his best friend.  Squishy has LOVED school since day 1 – no tears from him!  Jose has had a little trouble with figuring out how to be a friend to someone who is raised with different values than you, so we’ve had many talks about that.  He seems to be doing well, though, and is showing more signs of not being afraid to be who he is w/o fear of what others will think/say.

At the beginning of October, I took on a long-term sub position in Squishy’s school (the Pre-K class) so that is exciting, scary, awesome, and daunting all at the same time.  It’s so nice though, because I don’t have to figure out where to put Squishy for daycare while I work, because he’s right there with me.  This job really fell right in my lap after a big shake-up at the Y involving my dad being laid off, and it is clearly a blessing straight from God.  I am still at the Y right now, too, but it seems as though the people I know there are dropping like flies!  But until God tells me, “Move!” I’ll stay right where I am.  And the boys love that we are still there because it means they can stay involved in activities/sports like soccer, swimming, etc. Jose got to participate in a swim meet before the “winter” season set in (meets become very limited at that point), and he got 1, 2, 3, and 5 place ribbons as well as a 3rd place all-around medal in his age/gender division.  So proud! Squishy played soccer with Aunt Eggy and had a blast!

The boys also started AWANA this year.  We looked into it after the men’s BSF group failed to find leaders for the children’s program (a gross irresponsibility to our youth, in my opinion, but no one’s asking.)  It has been a big hit with both of them.  They’ve been memorizing Bible verses left and right, asking theological questions, and asking to tell me stories they’ve learned.  Super glad to have this additional influence besides school and church.  And speaking of church, we’re in a period of transition right now, but we’re listening to God for the next move and trusting that He will lead as He’s always done.

Squishy had school pictures done that turned out SO adorable we just had to get them, too, despite having ones done this summer.  See??

This past weekend, Jose and I did the “Color Me Rad” 5K with his best friend and another friend from class – total blast, even if I didn’t manage to set the color into the shirts properly before washing them.

And I think that just about brings me up to date on all/most of the important stuff.  There’s lots of other little things that have happened that I should have been writing about all along, but I don’t *think* I missed anything vital, ha ha!  Here’s hoping my next post won’t wait till next June…

Dying From 10,000 Papercuts

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take ships as an example.  Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants it to go.  Likewise, the tongues is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on a fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” ~James 3:3-10

I have been embarrassed, humiliated, and saddened by things that have come out of my mouth – and this all under normal life circumstances.  When I pair my lack of self-control over my mouth with a stressful day, a cranky or unwieldy child, lack of sleep, fatigued husband, or any number of other situations that can be burdensome, the results are…  well…  extraordinarily shameful, to say the least.  As a parent, adult, teacher, leader, and caregiver I know right from wrong, how I should act/what I should say, and the consequences that can come when I fail to live according to the will and plan of God.  I am held to a higher standard and come under greater scrutiny before the Lord because of the influence I hold in my various roles and the fact that, simply put, I know better.  As someone who has been a Christian for two decades, my level of maturity (i.e. my ability to control my tongue) really ought to be higher than it is.

My tongue can direct, destroy, or bless.  Through the grace of God, I can claim to be someone who has a pretty good handle on using my tongue for appropriate direction of those under my influence and for blessing pretty much everyone in my life, in one way or another.  However, the destruction my tongue brings – especially to Jose and Squishy – all but outweighs the benefits it brings.  And this is terribly distressing to me because it is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45.)  Knowing that, if angry, hurtful, inconsiderate, cutting, bitter, biting, rude, careless, condescending, cold, insincere, unfair, and selfish garbage is what comes out of my mouth more than anything else, what does that mean about the content of my heart??  What is pouring into my heart and mind – the wisdom of the world, which comes from Satan himself, or the wisdom of God?

A single spark can set an entire forest on fire.  In the same way, little remarks, insults, words of disapproval, etc. are like tiny little papercuts to my children.  And I am killing them with 10,000 papercuts – the words from my mouth.  Do I make Jose and Squishy safe, worthwhile, and valuable through my words?  Or am I reckless?  Piercing them with words like swords?  What kind of effect are my words having on my children?  Yes!  I make sure there is no doubt in their minds that I love them.  I tell them daily, I show them through my actions, I praise and thank them, I build them up, I teach them the Word, I guide, direct, instruct, help, comfort, edify, and soothe them.  But when they lay down at night, is it the, “I love you”s and “You are so special!”s they remember?  Or is it the, “Don’t act so stupid!”s, the “Why are you so naughty??”s, and the “Would you just shut up!!”s????  I know for myself that I hold onto the negatives in life far longer than the positives – why would my children be any different?  I can’t dismiss the backlash my words have on others just because I am a woman and women are known for being harpies, bitches, gossipers, shrews, etc.  It’s not an excuse and it is not in line with God’s will.

So, what can I do?  I can pray, be in the Word, study alone and in groups, pray, seek the council of fellow Christians, upright leaders, and the Spirit, align myself with God, pray, and above all, pray!  Pray for heavenly wisdom – wisdom that is pure, clean, wholesome, selfless, peace-loving, considerate of others, deliberate and careful to take other’s thoughts and feelings into account, submissive (having a readiness and willingness to yield to others where I can when it is not against God), compassionate and merciful, empathetic, sympathetic, fair, sincere, and which reaps a harvest of righteousness.

“Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick?  Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with the oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”  ~James 5:13-16

A prayer life is the mark of a mature Christian, just as is control over the tongue.  And if I pray earnestly for the will of God (not just trying to get him to do what I want, when I want), he will work on my behalf.  The passage says that it is prayers of the righteous that are powerful and effective.  The problem is that the Bible also tells us that there is none righteous – no, not one! (Romans 3:10)  So how can my prayers change anything?  What is all that praying about my tongue situation really going to accomplish?  Where can I get the righteousness I need?  From Christ himself.  At the moment of my salvation, His righteousness was transferred to me – I need to pray on the basis of HIS righteousness.  God is not required or forced to do anything as a result of my prayer, but the earnest prayer of a righteous woman immediately causes God to act on her (my!) behalf.

So does this mean that if I pray through Christ for self-control regarding my tongue, I will immediately be given the ability to never again speak in anger, frustration, bitterness, etc?  Probably not.  Yes, God could do that for me, if it was His will.  But it is more likely that this will be a process.  I may not get exactly what I want, but God will move in new and fresh ways to bring about His will in my life – a will that includes heavenly wisdom in speaking to others, especially Jose and Squishy.  If I want to mature in my faith and gain control over my tongue, I must pray on the basis of Christ’s righteousness and patiently wait on the compassionate and sovereign God to move on my behalf.  I can’t run ahead of God’s time-table, despite my suffering for the things I’ve said and the pain I’ve caused (and will likely still cause) in the lives of my children, and others.  I must not give up on prayer – or use prayer to beat up on God – when I feel He doesn’t respond “quickly enough.”  God knows what He’s doing, He is pursuing the best for me, and I have to trust the work He’s doing behind the scenes.

I’m BAAAAAAAACK!!!

Okay, so I won’t even bother to try and apologize for how long I’ve been away.  Totally my bad.  Sometimes I’m great at this blog thing, sometimes I stink.  More often the latter than the former, lol.  At any rate, let me catch you up on what you’ve missed!

October 2011

• I discovered Pinterest (I’ll see if I can figure out how to post a link to my page…)
• I organized our whole kitchen and we stopped using paper towels except for disgusting messes – the boys enjoy using facecloths for everything!
• Jose found Squishy’s old swim trunks (size 0-3 months) and put them on – picture to follow
  
• I pinned way too many things on Pinterest, lol
• The boys learned a hard lesson about reality. Reality dictates that when you are told you must behave in order to go to your friend’s birthday party in the afternoon, that doesn’t mean use your plates as frisbees and break one of them (Squishy), eat the food mom specifically set aside for her lunch and then lie and claim your brother did it (Jose), open your father’s computer and mess around on it while mom’s in the bathroom (Squishy), scream at your brother repeatedly at the top of your lungs (Jose), or continue to take your brother’s toys over and over and over after being told to knock it off (Squishy.)  They didn’t get to go to the birthday party.
• I got my Facebook timeline, which I personally LOVE
• The boys’ grandpa on Daddy’s side passed away (Oct 11, 2011) after having serious health issues for what seems like forever, and Jose was extremely upset that he didn’t get a chance to see him again before he died – cried for a long time
  
• Jose had some night-time accidents out of the blue, but then stopped again (praise God!)
• Squishy and I made awesome Halloween crafts at the YMCA
• Squishy and I had a playdate with/babysat two adorable kiddos
• My friend’s father went missing and was just found yesterday after six months of intense prayer and searching – his family is obviously saddened at the loss, but rejoicing that they know where his is and where he is spending eternity
• Jose got sick and had to miss his first day of school, but got well and went back the next day to do his school’s Harvest Walk during which he walked 4.63 miles in 2 hours – he also won a giftcard for having the most sponsors of all the Kindergartners
  
• Squishy and I found a Starbucks gift card hiding in an old envelope and went out to get a treat
• The boys lost a half a roll of stamps – it was found 5 1/2 months later
• We all went to Flagstaff and enjoyed some time with Badi and Pop-pop – carved awesome pumpkins while we were there.  Jose had to go back to Phoenix for school, of course, and unfortunately, we ended up with no pictures of him on Halloween because the cameras were in Flagstaff and he wasn’t!  He was a doctor again, though, so we can just copy the ones from last year, lol.
  

November 2011

• Jose learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!!  He went from training wheels to pushing off, riding all up and down the street, and stopping all in one day!
• Jose lost a 2nd tooth (November 8) – right next to the other one.  No more loose ones since then, though
  
  
• Aunt Laurla graduated with her nursing degree – woo hoo!!!
• Jose learned how to be even more of a smart-ass.  Case in point: “Daddy: Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Jose: No. Daddy: You don’t?? Jose: No. Daddy: Well, what DO you want? Jose: A poke in the eye with a sharp stick.”  Ha ha ha ha!!!
• Jose was blessed with a gift (to be kept till Christmas) from an anonymous donor – the one thing he had specifically been talking about wanting, the Littlest Pet Shop Rescue Tails Center  <3
• Jose and I made apple pie
  
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with EVERYONE!  Not all at the same time, but we saw my family and Daddy’s family, including the boys’ older half-siblings and their families
• We celebrated Daddy’s birthday (Mommy and Daddy got to try out the new AMC dine-in theater and Studio Movie Grill – so cool!)
• I pinned way too many more things to Pinterest
• Squishy and I went to the mall with friends and he played Monkey Preschool Lunchbox for a good 20 minutes at least while they got help at the Apple store
  

December 2011

• We all tried out the fire pit at Badi and Pop-pop’s house
• Squishy got sick and had to have breathing treatments – fortunately, we already have the machine and everything we need at home!
• Got pictures with Santa and his (giant) Elf at the YMCA
• Pinned a butt-load more things to Pinterest
• Discovered Erin Condren
• Aunt Eggy graduated from college!!!!  Woo hoo!  Jose got an awesome hat while there
  
• Jose’s Kindergarten class had a Cowboy Christmas Party at McCormick Railroad Park, for which Badi bought him INCREDIBLE cowboy boots – Aunt Laurla got to go with him!
  
• Squishy fell off the toilet and bashed his head on the toilet paper holder – it wasn’t bad, but he bled like a stuck pig and I was scared out of my mind
• Jose and I made an awesome Christmas gift for his teacher
• The biscuits exploded in our fridge
• We celebrated an AMAZING Christmas
• Jose perfected his spiral football pass to Uncle Jimmy (henceforth referred to as “Dude”, thanks to Squishy) whild he was in town
• We (the adults) went to the Insight Bowl game and witnessed the trouncing of the Iowa Hawkeyes – the boys got to be babysat by Aunt Laurla, which they loved!

January 2012

• Squishy and I went and visited Ms. Jess – always a great time when we do that!!!  Love her  <3
• Jose got to have a playdate with his twin friends from preschool!
• Pastor Frank left our church
• Jose went on a hike with Daddy, Badi, and Aunt Eggy
  
• I inexplicably deleted everything off my external hard-drive and am still working on recovering files to this day – including all of my photos from around February 2011 through January 2012.  GO ME!!!

February 2012

• Squishy got his 2nd official haircut – I hated it and probably won’t be taking him again till he has to go to Kindergarten
• Jose and Squishy had a mud day – Squishy was covered from head to toe; I had to insist that Jose get dirty.  Those two!!  LOL!
• Badi and I organized our entire book collection (well, not quite – we still need shelves for all of the early reader/picture books)
  
• Jose had a Valentine’s celebration at school that I went in to help with; we also celebrated at home, of course
• I got a new camera!
• The boys played a lot of baseball and soccer, went on hikes, and went to the park – mostly with Badi and Aunt Eggy
• Jose and Daddy went on a hike with Pastor Frank, because Jose really misses him and is hoping to stay his friend
• Jose got fancied up for his “Elegant Event” at school
  
• The boys did a LOT of bike riding – even going a couple miles at a time with Daddy (well, Squishy sat in the seat on the back of Daddy’s bike for that, lol)
• We discovered that Jose is an amazing artist
  
• Jose went and saw Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace in theaters with me – I saw it with my dad for my birthday 13 years ago
• Squishy got to have his very first Dunkin Donut
  

March 2012

• Squishy and I went and spent the day with Ms. Jess and we got to see horses, too!
  
• The boys started soccer with Aunt Eggy as their coach – they love it but have a little bit of a hard time staying focused
• Jose watched Labyrinth for the first time. He was completely engrossed and looked equal parts horrified and amused, lol!
• Jose took part in his first art contest – it ended this past week and he didn’t win, but he did get tickets to see Van Gogh Live! at the Science Center
• Daddy and I celebrated our 8th anniversary and Jose bought me flowers because he wanted me to know how much he loved me, lol
• Dude and his girlfriend came and visited Phoenix and we had a great time with them – especially getting to know Ms. Caitie!
  
• The boys fell in love with Party Rock Anthem thanks to Kia’s Hamster commercial
• Jose had his first “official” kiss – well, she actually kissed him, and it was at the prompting of the class troublemaker, but still…
• Jose got to go to Pump It Up to celebrate a friend’s birthday and had a BLAST!
• Aunt Eggy and I took the boys to see The Lorax – even Squishy did pretty good despite asking if the movie was done 5 minutes into it
• Jose sent Flat Stanley to Dude in North Carolina
  
• Badi and I had to tell Jose the story of Adam Walsh. He just will not stay by me in stores lately – insists on disappearing and he about gave me a heart attack in Bookmans. I was a little worried it would give him nightmares (it didn’t seem to), but honestly? When the other option is him being kidnapped, I’ll take a few nightmares any day.
• We got an iPad.  Enough said.
• Jose went to another friend’s birthday party – this one at a park and hosted by High 5 Sports (it was supposed to have been the day after his other one, but was postponed due to rain.) Since Momma and Daddy were leaving for Flagstaff that day, he got to be picked up after school by his friend’s mom.  He felt so grown up.
• We spent Spring Break in Flagstaff in a BIG condo – Badi and Pop-pop joined us for a few days. We went to the park, played sports, hiked, saw Indian ruins – all kinds of fun!!  Jose’s favorite part was getting to use our hot tub, lol.
• Jose discovered Tim Hawkins.  He is in love.  Ha ha!

April 2012:

• The boys started swim lessons – Squishy in the pool with Aunt Eggy, Jose in the pool independently, of course
• Squishy got sick and have to have breathing treatments again, but he got better really quick!
• Daddy and I finished the boys’ re-purposed crib chalkboard desk just in time for Easter!
  
• We celebrated Easter in style – egg and basket search at home; Sunday School, Eggstravaganza, and service at church; another egg search (real eggs, this time!) at Badi and Pop-pop’s house; dinner with everyone at our house
  

And now you’re all caught up!!!  And so am I.  WHEW!!!

Okay, You Can Stop Anytime!

Growing up, that is. Jose lost his first tooth today (well, yesterday, as it’s after 1am…) He only just noticed it was loose yesterday, and now it’s out! I know this is the right age, but it just really hit me hard that he is truly getting older. I’m not sure what I expected, particularly after my most recent post, but I’m just not ready for this!!! And yet, there’s no stopping it…

But it is a time of congratulations for him! He put his tooth under his pillow and wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy, asking her if she could please give his tooth to me instead of keeping it. He wants to have them when he’s grown up, lol. He’ll wake up to a Littlest Pet Shop puzzle and a reply from her. Here’s a picture of his new smile!

One Month+ (Now with Johnny Appleseed Pic!)

Jose and Mrs. Teacher

Well, here I am, taking forever to update again. Surprised? Didn’t think so. At any rate, I’m taking a little time tonight to reflect on the past month (plus.) Jose started Kindergarten on August 24 (see picture above of him with his teacher the day before school started), and he has changed so much just in this short amount of time. It’s as though this vast source of knowledge has been opened in his brain and it all comes tumbling forth in wondrous proportions. I am amazed daily by my child and the incredible amount of information he has seemed to suddenly assimilate in such a minute portion of his life. Here’s an example of what I mean:

• Counts to 200 with little hesitation and few (if any) mistakes
• Repeats/explains Biblical stories, such as Creation or the fall in the Garden of Eden, with precise detail and knowledgeable application of the principles presented therein
• Creates patterns incorporating up to four different shapes and colors
• Writes sentences and creates (not just draws, but uses scissors, paints, glue, whatever it takes) illustrations, such as: “the hELuctR And the pilit” = “The helicopter and the pilot.”
• Solves fairly difficult mazes with apparent effortlessness
• Comes home and copies concepts done at school, explaining why they were done that way, to show us what he’s been learning
  
  

  Jose was learning about x-rays in class

• Memorizes one or two sentence Bible verses every week
• Displays an awareness of a variety of sight words, including (but certainly not limited to): and, the, a, an, he, she, go, we, me, it
• Rhymes words with ease, sometimes even coming up with complex rhymes
• Identifies beginning and end sounds in many words

And again, these are just some of the multitude of things he blows me away with on a daily basis.  I am honestly not trying to brag or somehow toot my own horn for my son’s accomplishments.  I am just in utter shock at how much he has absorbed, how quickly it’s happened, and how well he’s retaining concepts that I distinctly remember not learning until 1st or 2nd grade.  I don’t know how today’s early childhood teachers manage to cram in everything that state standards require them to pass on to the kids at such young ages, but it is apparent that Jose’s teacher is doing something right.

The best part?  Jose loves school.  LOVES IT.  Even when he was having a small issue with one of the other students last month, he never once indicated in any way that he didn’t want to go.  He loves learning, loves being with the other kids, loves sharing what he was taught that day.  Sometimes he loves doing one thing or another a little too much, goes overboard, and ends up on yellow, but hey – I TOTALLY understand how that . . .  squirrel!!! And in just this month+ that he’s been there, so much has happened in class!  He’s already been star student, meaning he got to bring home the class “pet”, Stella (a plush Mario star, lol), and had special activities every day centered around the class finding out more about him – from an “about me” poster, to having momma (me) come in and read to the class, it was a fun week all around.

He made a best friend before school even started – the day before to be exact.  At “get acquainted day”, we met the other students in his class, and I knew before he even told me, which student would be his best friend – a pretty girl who has just turned 6 and is taller and slightly better at everything than the other kids.  Want to know how I knew she’d be his best friend?  The first thing she did was boss him around, and tell him what he needed to be doing on his treasure hunt.  He has a serious pattern when it comes to his best friends – bossy girls who love to spend time with him, playing pretty much any game he dreams up.  With their own rules added, of course.

The class has had a Johnny Appleseed week, ending in a dress up like Johnny day (I don’t have a picture on this computer, but I’ll try to remember to come back and post one later.)

Here's the picture! And yeah, I know that's the wrong kind of pot, but his ginormous head was too massive for our single handled pots, lol. Besides, they made paper ones in school that they actually wore.

They’ve made it almost through the entire alphabet and will be having an alphabet party at the end of this week.  They go to computers, library, P.E., art, music, and Spanish at least once a week.  They try new foods in class, practice things on the SMART board, and learn little class “cheers” (which Jose LOVES to repeat, as long as he’s not being too shy.)  They have chapel twice a month, and the Lord really speaks to Jose’s heart during those times.  There is so much more that I know I’m forgetting, but I am just a little overwhelmed (in a really good way!) at all the changes being wrought in my little boy.

I was so worried that I was somehow sending him off into the great unknown, unprepared for what he would face, when it turns out I was the one woefully unprepared for just how well he’d blossom and how incredible he’d turn out to be in his new environment.

Update on Jose and the ADD/ADHD/Autism Question!!!!!

Well, I just went back and looked at my very first post and I realized that I never ever updated you guys on anything regarding the possibility of Jose having ADD/ADHD or something on the Autism spectrum!!! So, I thought that while it was on my mind, I’d address that.

To start out with, he has not been officially diagnosed with anything at all, so we haven’t had to get into any type of education plans with his school.  That may change at a later date, but I’ll explain that further in.  So, we had been seeing Dr. Beth Onufrak (excellent licensed child psychologist – I want to get her name out there for people seeking help as she deals SPECIFICALLY with children ages 3-8!) on a fairly regular basis.  Of course, the very first thing we had done was address all of our concerns about Jose with her and she led us through a very detailed inventory/questionnaire that is used to pinpoint specific areas to focus on with a child.

The results made it clear that while he does have control issues and obsessive qualities, he falls outside of the autism spectrum, so that was a relief!  Not that we would have loved him any less or felt as though there was something inherently wrong with him if he had been given an official diagnosis, but that would have been such a huge burden and it made breathing just a little easier knowing we wouldn’t have to bear that cross.  In regards to the question of ADD/ADHD, whether or not he does have one of those disorders, it hasn’t affected him as of yet to the point that it is interfering with his life.  Therefore, we set that concern aside for now, and will return to it in the future (if needed) once we see how he does in the full-time school setting.  If we feel that things are becoming too difficult for him to handle, we will talk to Dr. Beth about revisiting possible treatment/therapy.

So, what did we talk about in our visits?  Well, as I mentioned above, he has issues with control and obsessiveness.  Basically, because he is quite intelligent, he wants to be able to do everything that adults can, and it frustrates the LIFE out of him when he can’t!  He wants to do things his way, and he’s convinced that is way is the ONLY right way; when things don’t turn out how he expects them to, it’s very difficult for him to cope. Dr. Beth worked with Jose on flexibility and talking about things instead of keeping them bottled up inside.

For example: They would play a game where two of the puppets went to McDonald’s and knew EXACTLY what they wanted to order.  (Jose always wanted to be the server/cashier.)  One of the puppet’s orders would always have something wrong (no ranch dressing, only chicken nuggets when they wanted a cheeseburger, etc.) and that puppet would start to have a huge fit.  The other puppet would talk to the first one about how to be flexible in a situation like that, and Jose would be drawn into the conversation to try and work out the best way for the upset puppet to react and handle the fact that things didn’t go as planned.  <<<<This was an EXCELLENT tool and Jose still employs what he learned.

Another tool Dr. Beth gave us to use was an un-chart.  As opposed to something like a chore chart where completing specific duties is required, this is way to earn stickers and rewards for exhibiting excellent behavior that we want to see repeated.  Jose chose a picture of Caillou (two actually – one where he’s mad and one where he’s glad) and puts Littlest Pet Shop stickers on it whenever he earns one.  Still not sure what I mean?  Let me explain: Say Jose is met with an upsetting situation, and rather than having a fit about it, he says, “It’s okay, etc…”, he earns a sticker.  Or perhaps he displays wonderful character qualities without being prodded to – he gets a sticker!  I realize this may seem silly and as though we are rewarding behavior that we should EXPECT in the first place; I know I went into it feeling kind of like that.  But let me tell you, it works!  By acknowledging and specifically detailing the type of actions and mannerisms we want to see from Jose on a regular basis, he now better understands and can exhibit those types of behaviors.  The change has been amazing!  Not saying things are perfect – he IS a five-year-old boy after all – but thinking about where we were 6 months ago and where we are now?  Totally worth the time, effort, AND money.

After seeing Dr. Beth on a weekly and then bi-weekly basis through the end of June, Jose improved so drastically that we are only going in on a need-to basis at this point.  If things start getting more out of hand again (ex: fits lasting longer than 5 minutes and/or happening more frequently than 2 times a month) we may begin regularly scheduled visits for a time, but as of now, neither we nor Dr. Beth feel it is necessary.  Do you know what an amazing feeling that is????  We are so proud of Jose and all the progress he’s made.  We see him put into practice what he’s learned on a daily basis – even just tonight, when Squishy broke his mini Etch-a-Sketch.  In the past, this would have put him into an inconsolable rage that lasted quite awhile before he could be calmed down.  Tonight, his face crumpled, and he started crying, but got it under control easily within the 5 minute time-limit.  It helped that we had a movie playing, which distracted him, but in the past, that wouldn’t have made a bit of difference.  WOO HOO!!!

Dinner Date w/o Dinner!

Kids say, and do, the darndest things, don’t they?  As we were coming home from working in Daddy’s classroom today, Jose asked us, “Can we have Laurla come over and watch ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ with us?  Oh, and can we ask Eggy and Badi and Pop-pop, too?  But not Uncle Jimmy, because he’s in North Carolina, so he can’t come.”

Laurla was the first to respond, with a text that said, “aww. i think we can arrange that.” And then in response to Jose stating that he wants to sit next to her on the couch, “haha what a cutie. it would make my heart smile to sit next to him.”

Badi and Pop-pop were next – a telephone call to say that they would love to come over, too, but that we didn’t need to worry about feeding them dinner because they’d just eat before they came over.

Eggy was last to respond; she wasn’t sure at first if she could make it due to early work hours the next day, but when she heard there was the possibility of free food, she was all for it.

So, the little mastermind was very pleased and began planning away immediately.  At first, he was disappointed that ONLY Eggy would be eating.  He said, “But I wanted it to be a dinner date!” (Where he got that phrase from, I have NO idea.) He shared with us his idea that our house would be a restaurant where we would set up a table in the middle of the room with balloons, and he would take our orders from the menu.  But then he said, “It’s okay.  We can just do that next time everyone comes over, okay?”  What a sweetheart!

Moving on from the dinner-less dinner date idea, he began to focus on the movie-and-popcorn date instead.  Knowing that he wanted to sit next to Laurla on the couch, he began to devise a scheme for how all of us could sit together and be next to the people we love.  Well, at least how 4 of us could do that.  I guess everyone else is supposed to fend for themselves… At any rate, here’s his master plan:

“Laurla and I will sit next to each other, and you [momma] will sit next to me also.  You will sit on one side and Laurla will sit on the other, and half of me will sit next to each of you.  The girls on the outside and the boys on the inside.  Except then where will daddy sit?  Okay, how about this.  Daddy will sit next to you, momma, since you don’t get to sit next to him in church anymore.  And then I will sit next to daddy so the boys are in the middle, and Laurla will sit next to me.  And I will hold hands with Laurla and daddy, and daddy will hold your hand, momma.  And then the free hands will hold each other and we’ll be stuck together forever like glue.  Except for if you have to go to the bathroom.  Then we’ll pour water to melt the glue so we don’t have to all go to the bathroom together.  That would be EMBARRASSING.”

Yearly Photo Sessions!!!

So, in order to at least have some photographical proof of the boys’ existance (yeah, like we weren’t going to get that any other way?  Lol…) we have been having regular studio portraits done since birth.  Newborn, 2mo, 4mo, 6mo, 9mo, 12mo, 18mo, and then at their birthday every year after that.  Well, obviously, if the boys just each had a birthday, that means they each had some pictures done!  And I thought I’d share them with you. Aren’t you lucky????

Jose, first:

Squishy, second:

Graduation Gifts and Turning 5

Well, here I am again!  Late, as usual, but I wanted to finally sit down and hash out some of the blogs I’d been putting off so I can get that weight off my chest and move forward in blogdom. This one is short on words but very, very sweet.

First, I just wanted to put up a picture of all the various and sundry things Jose got for graduation.  He’s got cards, books, pictures, a diploma – all kinds of cool stuff!  It’s important to acknowledge these milestones – even as silly as it may seem sometimes.

Secondly, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate Jose’s life as I did with Squishy!  Jose’s birthday was actually back on June 13th (I know, I know!! ) and he turned the big number 5 this year!  As you could probably tell by the number of pictures I put up for Squishy, I am a shutterbug.  As such, if I went back and posted tons of pictures from the beginning of Jose’s life until now, we’d be here all day long!  So, I’ll just put up a few that I picked out when his teacher was making a slideshow of the students for the end of the year.  I’ve already pared them down 4 pictures, so it won’t be too bad. I’ll also throw in a couple (okay, a FEW) from his actual birthday, and that will be it, I promise!

And just in case you were wondering, here are his stats, since I posted Squishy’s -
Birth Date: June 13, 2006
Time: 11:31am
Weight: 9lbs, 1.2oz
Length: 20.5″
Head: 14.5″

Okay, here’s a few growing up pictures:

His First 4th of July

Happy One Year Old!!!

Getting a Treat at Applebee’s for His 2nd Birthday

In the Christmas Pageant at 3 1/2

And now for the pictures from his birthday!!!

Got Another Fish – Nemo Tuki

PRESENTS!!!

Birthday Cake Time!!!

Jose With the “Pop-pop” Pig

Bad Momma, BAD!! Oh, and Happy Birthday to Squishy! (With 5,792,601 pictures…)

Clearly, I am terrible at keeping up on a blog. There are a number of things I wanted to post that I never got around to doing (and one I need to go back and do for sure – Jose’s birthday), but rather than continue to put new posts off till I got around to completing the backlog, I thought I’d better just go ahead and post this NOW while I’m thinking about it!!  (How’s that for a run-on sentence?? )  With many mea culpa’s for the lack of updates and skipping of events, let me now proceed to my reason for (finally) stopping by today to make a post! IT’S SQUISHY’S 2ND BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We aren’t actually celebrating till later in the week because of various reasons, but that’s no reason to not acknowledge the fact on the actual day of his birth!  Again, he’s turning TWO!!! I can’t believe it!!!! Here’s his birth stats:

Birth Date: July 17, 2009
Time: 3:06pm
Weight: 9lbs, 6oz
Length: 20.5″
Head: 14.5″

And now, pictures!!!!