My guy...

If you have read my blog anytime between 2011 and now, or if you know me in real life, you know that my George has been challenging. Early wake-ups in the infant/toddler years, very physically precocious, climbing and jumping and moving and going, going, going. All the time. He couldn't be reasoned with so it was a pretty exhausting time between ages 1-3.

I actually remember one time when he was maybe 1 or 2- I walked in the living room and he was laying over the arm of the couch. He was very still for several seconds. After maybe 5 seconds, I started to panic because I had never seen him so still and actually thought he was dead. No kidding. He was still for 5 seconds so I assumed he was dead. (Obviously, he was not. If I recall correctly, he was getting ill.)

And that is how it was. He could never get a hold of "gentle touches", try as we might to explain it to him. He was very loving and affectionate, but his hugs and kisses were always quite hard. Always moving, no understanding of personal space, very self-directed (Read: he wouldn't listen to anyone). I really thought it was a behavior issue. What was I doing wrong? Why wouldn't he listen to me? Why is he so rough, even in play? I kept thinking that certainly he would grow out of it. A phase.

About 2 years ago, shortly before DisneyWorld, I began to think it was something else than just preschool shenanigans. He seemed to truly "not get" some things. I kept telling people- he is my 5th, this isn't my first rodeo. I know what normal preschool behavior should look like. And over the last two years, that ill-defined "something isn't quite right" Mama feeling began to morph from feeling into realization.

There have been several moments that stick out, over the last year especially. A moment in Christmas Mass. I had made him wear "church shoes". At first he was just restless. Moving, shaking, bouncing. Jiggling and wiggling in Joe's arms.  I remember looking at Joe holding him and thinking that this movement was something outside of his control. He seemed to feel compelled to move. About 2/3 of the way through Mass, he couldn't handle it anymore and he became unglued. He just couldn't handle the shoes anymore.

Incidents in school where he could no longer sit and would wander the room, wanting to make friends but not understanding why you couldn't get in their space, a morning this winter where I didn't lay his close out correctly and I had to carry him, hysterical, out to the car. Carry him into school. He cried the first couple hours. Because I didn't lay his socks out right.

It really all became unbearable this winter. He was having a hard time with his behavior at school. He was having a hard time at home. He was sad and angry most of the time. My enthusiastic boy was just so angry. We met with his teacher.We didn't know where to turn. I actually reached out to his former Parents As Teachers mentor who directed me to a play therapist in the area.

This is where we reached a turning point. The teacher was able to implement some changes at school, he was building a relationship with the therapist. Things got brighter. I was able to see my enthusiastic boy again sometimes. Not everything was a fight. His therapist suggested we get him evaluated for sensory issues at a place in the Springs. I had suspected he had sensory processing issues since we lived in Wisconsin but didn't know how to help him/ where to take him to get help for him.

His official diagnosis was Sensory Processing Difficulty. Sensory issues often accompany autism (which I honestly don't think he has), or ADHD (which I find more plausible) but occasionally, sensory issues stand alone. He will be meeting with an Occupational Therapist weekly for the next year. We are currently in the process of getting a plan together so that he will receive services at school as well, which will be amazing for him and much easier on his teacher.

Sensory issues come in several varieties. Sensory defensiveness, which means one or all of the senses is hyperreactive to stimuli.   Or sensory offensiveness, which means that one or more senses is underreactive to stimuli. He has some sensory defensiveness (jeans. and apparently hard leather shoes. some types of noise.) but overwhelmingly, he really struggles with sensory seeking behavior because his brain doesn't respond to stimuli until there is a lot of it. He is tactile seeking, proprioceptive seekng, vestibular seeking. This also makes impulse control exceptionally challenging. Disclaimer: I am new to this, but this is how I have come to understand it.

A few things:
1) I am so happy. It is such a relief to finally be able to name it, to make a plan and to deal with it.  Whatever difficulty he has had because of his sensory processing issues doesn't have to hold him back. We are finally on the path to help him feel right in his body- to help him in the way that will be most beneficial for him. To open him up to be the best George he can be instead of burdened by these unnamed things.

2) This is challenging. He looks "normal". People who don't know him, don't know us, will assume he is some wild hooligan with permissive parents.  I know I can't change people's perception of him but it just hurts in advance that people will judge him before getting to know what an awesome, smart, perceptive, articulate person he is and how hard he has to try.

3) I wish I had known of these resources 2 years ago when I first suspected something was off. It really could have spared him some heartache.

I was reluctant to share this, for myriad reasons. But the reason I am is because a couple of years ago one of my friends shared on Facebook some of the things they were dealing with with their son.  Sharing her experiences with her son prompted me to look more into George's behavior and gave me a jumping off point to get help for him.  I am so grateful she shared.

My George is an amazing guy and even though this a is a path I did not anticipate, I can't wait to see how he grows.

Breathe, Just Breathe

I have been trying to blog since mid- May. You can see how that has gone.

Since March when I blogged last: Isabelle ran track this year with the middle school. I shuttled her back and forth to practice every day for 6 weeks. It was pretty tiring, but she worked hard and really improved. This summer, she spent 3 weeks in Kansas, one of those at Totus Tuus.

Isaac crossed over into Boy Scouts. He did his first Winter camping with his new troop, backpacking weekend and summer camp.  He has really grown.

Liam did state testing to satisfy some of Colorado's requirements for homeschoolers. He tested high in Math and higher in Reading. Which I knew because I hang out with him. Anyways, because of this, I have agonized about what the best curriculum decision for him for next year would be. #homeschoolprobs  He also crossed over to Webelos in Cub Scouts. Him and Joe got to go on a campout to the Sand Dunes, which looked super awesome.

Adelle had a dance recital in May. She was lovely. She loves dancing and is going to dance again this year. Her reading really took off in the last few months. 2nd grade coming up!

George was equal parts exasperating and charming and exhaustingly clever. He finished preschool and is preparing for Kinder this upcoming month. He is ready. I am not ready. I have my reservations about sending him to Kinder (why don't they let them play more??) but he is ready to read and loves school. I am trying not to borrow trouble and to see where the year takes us.

Joe got a part time second job in addition to his full time job. He has hiked three 14ers so far this summer, traveled to San Francisco, Dallas and New York for work. We have worked on stripping the decks to redo (huge job! much bigger than anticipated!) We put in new flooring in our living/kitchen/dining.

I got a part time job as Father's assistant at Church and am trying out a position as a Birth Assistant to a local midwife. I forgot about how tough on call time is. But I am excited to see where that takes me. I climbed one of those 14ers with Joe, which was excellent in that 1) I got to share in one of my husband's passions and 2) I climbed a frickin' mountain. It was tough in that 1) My knees hated me for about 8 days. And still residually hate me on occasion. 2) Wait, there was just one downside. Everyone has been adjusting to me being gone some. I have tried to be more patient when I am home. I sometimes often fail.

We have worked a lot, collectively. We haven't hiked as much as either Joe or I would have liked. The adjustment has been tough at times. For everyone.

But here we are. In Colorado. Gorgeous  mountains, health, supportive family, wonderful friends. We have a strong family.

I will leave you with a quick story. I started working at the Church mid-June. Father is a get-down-to-business kind of guy, so the morning I walked in, he came into my office with about 5 different things. He had a meeting he needed to get to, but wanted me to be able to get started, so he very briefly explained what he would like me to do and set me to it. As I got started, this song came on the radio. Total Holy Spirit moment. What more can I ask for?

Adventures in learning to ski

I should preface this post by saying, I am not a risk- taker. I am likely one of the least risk-taking people you will meet. I didn't sneak out in high school, I don't speed, I don't hike off trail (unless I am following my husband, but it makes me anxious), it was out of my comfort zone to go on the roller coasters at Disney World. You know the term "adrenaline junkie"? That is the opposite of me. Adrenaline averse, I like to call it.

So it has never really bothered me that I have never had the opportunity to downhill ski. I had been content to cross- country ski. You can go pretty fast, but without the momentum of going, you know, down hill.  Since I now live in Colorado, however, the opportunity to downhill ski was bound to come up eventually.

And it did. We got to meet up with Joe's brother, Fr. Matt, in Breckenridge last week. It was a ton of fun and so great to get to hang out with him. We decided that Joe, Fr. Matt and I would go skiing in the morning one day and Fr. Matt would hang out with the littles while Joe and I taught the older three how to ski in the afternoon.

I should say, that even though I would not necessarily go skiing on my own, I also don't mind a challenge or going out of my comfort zone on occasion. Case in point: roller coasters. I could happily never ride another roller coaster in my life, but I will do it if the opportunity presents itself. And honestly, the anticipation of it is worse that the actual activity. People ski all the time. Little kids do it. It couldn't be that bad, right?

So the three of us got there in the morning and they gave me a crash course in skiing. They took me up the bunny hill a couple of times. I could stop, turn, slow down, all that fun stuff. After a couple runs on the bunny hill, we went up a lift that took us down a green run. I was getting the hang of it! Well, until the steep part of the run, I started going faster, got out of control and fell. Whoops! It was a solid first try, I thought.

After the first run. Feeling pretty good. 

We went up the same lift again, but about halfway down, decided to cut over to a less crowded lift. They told me that the next run was blue at the top, but then green the rest of the way down. No problem! Only, when we were cutting over to that lift, there was a steeper part which made me fall. Fr. Matt helped me up, then I fell on top of his skis and I rode down the rest of that hill on top of his skis, taking him out at the bottom. Annnnd, getting on the lift, I crossed my skis and they both snapped off.

At this point, I was beginning to feel defeated and frustrated. I sighed a lot, as I do when I am stressed. Then I apologized, because I am a chronic apologizer. We got to the top, my skis arriving a couple of chairs behind us. I looked down that long, long run and decided I could not do it. Nope, wasn't going to be able to ski this one. So I began to inch down the mountain. I wasn't going to go out of control this time! I was going to use every ounce of resistance I could so I didn't go too fast or gain too much momentum.

Those of you that have skied, I am sure, understand that this was a terrible idea. At one point (several points?) Joe pointed out that if I just skied and went with the momentum that I wouldn't be wearing myself out so much. I told him, yes, what he was saying was true, but no, I was going to do this my way. Even though my way wasn't a very good way.

I whined, I moaned, I said skiing was the least fun thing ever (note to Past Erin: you weren't actually skiing, you were trying to scoot down the mountain) and I was never doing it again, I whacked my poles into the snow in a hissy fit of frustration. I was dripping sweat with the effort of not going too fast and my legs were on fire. Actual fire. You couldn't see it, but they were. I seriously considered just sitting down, and giving up. Someone could come up with one of those stretchers and get me if they really wanted me off the mountain. I apologized profusely (an annoying amount?) to my skiing buddies because even in my crazy, I knew that I was making this a torturous experience for all involved.

Fr Matt graciously offered to ski me down to the next level area. I declined a couple times until I realized that I was in no position to be stubborn about it. So I clung to his jacket like my life was at stake and he skied us down. Unfortunately, I took him out again at the end, which he was very, very gracious about. God bless him. Joe, at least, has gotten used to putting up with my shenanigans for the last 16 years, but this was my poor brother-in-law's first real onslaught of my crazy. He was very kind and patient.

It was about time to pick the kids up, but we were still 1/2? 2/3? of the way up the mountain, so Fr. Matt went ahead so he could get them and meet up with us after, leaving Joe and I. It was somewhere around this point that I looked down, saw how far I still had to go and came to grips with the fact that I was holding myself (and my beloved husband) hostage. There was no way of getting down but just doing it and I was making it take so much longer. So I skied. It wasn't pretty, I still whined, I lost control a few times and fell. But that friggin' mountain didn't beat me. No, it didn't.

Teaching the kids was fun. I was rocking that bunny hill!

We ate lunch, drank some water, met up with the kids. I put on my big girl panties and got back out there. I wasn't going to end my day on that note, nope. Joe and I taught Issy, Isaac and Liam to ski.  They each picked it up with varying degrees of ease (or unease). We took them down the bunny hill a few times (that I navigated easily, which was balm for my poor, bruised ego).We went up the lift and took them on a relatively short green run. I fell once and the kids all fell at least once, but it was fun. FUN! I was feeling good by the end. I really enjoyed teaching them and was very glad that I sucked it up and stayed for the afternoon.

And that was my experience learning to ski. I would totally do it again. Although, I might stick to the greens next time :)

Tuesday 5: Facebook and ovens

1. We've spent some time in the Emergency Room in the last week with various kid's sicknesses getting out of control. Issy on Friday night and George on Saturday night. Bronchitis for both of them, plus a side of ear infection and wheezing for George. This is one. nasty. virus. I am extremely thankful for modern medicine this week, because they were very ill. With some cough syrup with codeine, some meds to open their lungs, they both seem to be on the mend now. Now, however, Isaac has it. I am trying desperately to reign it in. If you are the praying type, prayers would be appreciated.

2. I decided to go off Facebook for Advent. It has been good. Mostly. Since I stay at home and have children who all need to talk to me when I get on the phone, contact with friends and family back in Kansas and Wisconsin is mostly done via Facebook.  It isn't Facebook stalking, it isn't friending people just to have a bunch of Facebook friends, it is just connecting with people in a silly or meaningful way that I would have a hard time doing otherwise. I miss that. I don't miss the drama (which I am pretty good about not getting sucked into, but on occasion...) and I don't miss the "news" (I kind of want to forget that Donald Trump might actually be a serious contender for President) but I do miss my acutal, people-i-miss-talking-to, friends.

3. I am not sure how we have blasted through December, but here we are, halfway through. 10 days until Christmas. It has been a real doozy.

4. I cleaned my oven today. I don't think I have ever cleaned my oven unless we were moving (although actually, one of my friends cleaned the oven in our first Kansas house before we moved...) but I don't think I have ever thought, "Hey, I'll clean the oven." It was actually a little chilly in the house and my main motivation was to make it warmer. And, in fairness, I have a self cleaning oven, so I just pushed the button and endured the smoke from pizza toppings put directly on the rack. But! I actually wiped out the soot afterwards. I found out the inside of my oven is blue. Isn't that random? And fun? And more you needed to know?

5. When I reflect on how we got here, specifically, to our community in Colorado, I am in awe of the way God moved things so that we would be here. It was truly God working directly in our lives and perhaps, a testimony for another day. But I am even more in awe of the way we have been welcomed. When we moved, I never imagined being embraced in friendships the way that we have been. It has been such a blessing. When we are with our friends, my heart is always so full. This year, I think I am most grateful for the beautiful friendships I have made.

Well, 2015 won't go down as a prolific year for blogging...

...not even a little bit.

Since I last posted in October, I:

• Went to Texas to train to be a Birth Boot Camp instructor
• Spent most of November cleaning up various bodily fluids as we battled the stomach flu as a family for three weeks
• Traveled to Kansas for Thanksgiving
• Spent the first part of December battling a nasty respiratory virus as a family

Texas was awesome. Well, Texas was Texas, but the training and people I met were awesome. I spent three days learning how to teach the curriculum, which is fantastic. The materials are beautiful, the program is thorough, the information is up-to-date. We also learned about the business and marketing end of it, which was very helpful. I am very grateful I chose to teach with Birth Boot Camp, both because of the amazing curriculum and their support for their instructors as well.

I'd like to say, I hit the ground running and got a class going right away, but alas, bullet point number two happened. I was beginning to get into marketing, making contacts, putting together a website and everything came to a grinding halt when we all got the stomach flu in November. And passed it around. Then passed it around again. Miserable. But we made it through.

We were able to travel to see our families for Thanksgiving which was as wonderful and hectic and full of visiting as it always is. I would love to say I documented this well with a camera, but no, I did not. It happened though, I promise.

The day after we got back, Liam and Delle got a fever/ cough. Then over the last week, everyone else has gotten it. Many tissues have been used. Lots of steamy baths. VapoRub. Temperatures taken. Tea drank.

I consider myself a pretty optimistic person, but there have been a couple (few?) times in the last week that I. Have. Lost. It. (Sorry again, receptionist at the kid's doctor's office who got the brunt of it.) My life can pretty much be summed up in this meme, which has popped into my head multiple times in the last week:

But alas, as a wife and parent, I can't just check out. Well, I could, but that'd be bad in the long run, so I don't. Blessedly, we have an amazing group of friends here, and having a support system has kept us from going completely nutty. But I just would really appreciate if life could ease up just a teensy.

Also, when I am not feeling sorry for myself, and I allow myself a bit of perspective, it is a helpful reminder that compared to others, our life has much abundance. So I will continue to list my blessings, offer up my suffering for others and try to keep the whining to a minimum.

Hope you, dear reader, are having a blessed Advent.

Saturday drive in the mountains

Aspen hike

September has been a doozy at the Marney house. It got really busy, really fast. Then, last week, all the germs and busyness caught up with some of us. George got a nasty cough, Issy got it too, Isaac started having throat problems again. Then, this week, the four younger have battled a very tricky tummy bug. Ugh. It makes me want to bathe the house and everyone in it in Lysol. 

And it is Autumn in Colorado. Pretty much any descriptor I try to use for it wouldn't do the beauty justice. 70 degrees and sunny pretty much every day. Breezy. Longer shadows. It has been killing me that we have been busy and sick. If I am lucky, I get maybe 70 or 80 Autumns on this Earth. And every beautiful day that passes makes me feel guilty for not being outside and soaking in the gloriousness. 

I love Autumn. It is so vibrant, so dynamic. Because I am Catholic to my core, I was reflecting yesterday on Autumn and how the dying, the giving way to something else, can be so beautiful.  Beauty in suffering, dying then rising, Autumn/Winter/Spring. Alright, I'll stop. 

I got to carve out some time for a quick hike yesterday. Both Joe and I had taken this hike at Mueller State Park this summer and commented how beautiful the huge Aspen groves would be in the Autumn. They didn't disappoint.The colors were delicious and hard to capture the vividness on camera. I hope you enjoy the attempts though. 

 These two are my favorites. It was breezy and this group of trees was raining leaves as I was approaching. I actually ran up to it, so I could get a picture.

 The Aspen leaves adorn the evergreens for a short time.

Journal: When it's been too long

Out my window: 60s and cloudy. My children are reading/ playing/ fighting out there. And drinking tea. Because we are classy like that.

Clothing myself in: New jeans, ankle boots and black lace trimmed tank top. I've lost weight (yay!) so I had to get new jeans. The brand I bought employs "vanity sizing", which kind of makes me roll my eyes, but whatever. They fit and are cute, so it's fine.

Around the house: Not much :) Joe steam cleaned the carpet a couple of weeks ago. I've been trying to keep up the Critter fur since then with intermittent success. Need to figure out a wood supply for our wood stove before too long here. Luckily, it isn't the only source of heat for our home, but it is more reliable.

Life with Kids: George started preschool a couple of weeks ago. So far, so good. He likes it very much and from what his teachers tell me, is doing very well listening, following instructions, paying attention. He gets a little beasty when he is here in the afternoon sometimes. I think it is just a lot for him to be on his best behavior so that sometimes means acting out when he gets home. I have told him several times that I would like him to give me the same cooperation he gives Ms. Allison, which sometimes works. It'll be interesting to see how the year progresses.

The other kids are enjoying the Homeschool Enrichment Academy and I've been enjoying the break.  They are riding the bus, so it gives me a lovely, quiet morning alone and then I get to spend the afternoon with George.  They love the art, science, PE, music, getting to be with other kids. We were going to do the online school through the district as well, but it was a bit of a fiasco with the curriculum "revamping" and it kind of sucking, so we withdrew after a week.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one to complain because they are actually offering their "legacy" courses now because of the negative response. They offered to let me do the legacy courses, but I already built a solid curriculum for the kids in the meantime, so I declined. That is probably what I should have done in the first place, but live and learn, right?

But I am excited about the year. Adelle seems to really be getting into reading and writing, which is always exciting. It is super nice to have George at preschool so we can do some schooling in peace in the morning. Love it.

The older kids (mostly the boys) have decided they want to raise chickens. I have mentioned it before and they have friends that have raised chickens, and it's been a topic of discussion several times. Joe isn't wild about the idea.  I told them yesterday that if they wanted to do it, they needed to do their research- how much chicks cost, feed, how to build a hen house and run, how much those materials would cost, how to bear-proof it. They spent some time compiling a list of costs and figuring out what kind of house to build. We will see if they follow through. And if they can convince Joe but their responsibility ;)

In the kitchen: Pork loin tonight, other things on the menu that I cannot recall. Oh, meatball subs for George's birthday on Sunday (!)  With the arrival of fall to the mountains, I foresee a lot of soup in our future.

Crafting: Um, mostly nope. I started on a scarf, but haven't gotten very far with it.

Bringing me joy: Ridiculously quiet Wednesday mornings while the kids are at school, how much the love the enrichment program, the way George gets excited about showing his teacher something, hints of fall in the air, beginning of changing leaves.

I am so crazy blessed to live here. Truly. Most days I take George to school and pick him up from school and everytime I drive the highway and see the mountains, I am in awe of the beauty. It never gets old- it's different every time; no leaves, green leaves, yellow leaves, no flowers, some flowers, yellow and purple flowers. It is amazing.

Thinking about:  Busy. I have always been averse to busy. Maybe I am lazy? Or let's just call me a homebody. At any rate, I find busy exhausting and kind of anxiety inducing. But since summer started, life picked up pace crazy rapidly. And I lied to myself at the beginning of August, saying once school started, things would slow down, but no, not really. Isaac and Liam are in Cub Scouts, I am hoping to sign up Adelle for dance and George for gymnastics and we are still trying to find Issy's thing. We have never really done "activities" but I want them to have at least one thing they like to do and find motivating.

We have chosen to start really participating in the life of the parish. But with so many great activities and ways to serve comes the need to be discerning so that we are not over-committed.

With all that, I am also working, very diligently, on completing the requirements for my Birth Boot Camp educator training in October. It's a lot of work! I love the subject matter so it isn't drudgery, but I am truly not used to having to juggle so many things and having to carve out time. It's slightly overwhelming.

I am praying to find a balance so that everyone is involved in the community in a way that they find satisfying but all the while not jeopardizing our core unit- our family

Ahem....

Well, I certainly did not intend for that to be a 2 1/2 month blogging hiatus. Life has just happened a lot in the last couple of months. Like, a lot a lot.

I have lost track of how many friends and family have come to stay with us or that have visited with us during their Colorado vacations this summer. We've hiked, we have camped, Joe has climbed a couple of 14ers, we have sat on the deck and read books in the sun, taken care of flowers, done a little bit of learning, played with play dough and clay, I worked on my course work for my childbirth educator training.

So yeah. I am not ignoring you, Internet friends, life just got real crazy. And I am not one of those people that handles busy very well.  My computer also had some weirdness, so there wasn't one place for me to download pictures. And I am afraid my rambling only takes this blog so far- we need pictures!

I am making a pie crust promise to blog more now. Okay?

Sprrrring

We inherited a ton of planters and pots and such from the former owners of the house. There were actually built in planter boxes on the upper deck. So even though I'm not what you would call a green thumb, I've been itching to plant some flowers. At least to fill the planter boxes with something other than last years dead flowers.

 But Spring is pretty hard fought here in the mountains. There is a lot of back. And forth. And back and forth. And just when you think it's gonna happen, it goes back again. 

I am terrible at waiting though. I kept looking at flowers all through May, tempted by their bright springiness. I restrained myself. Which was a good call because it looked like this on Mother's Day: 

April Showers bring May... Snow?

But finally, finally! There is a weekly forecast where no temps below 40 are predicted. And it is supposed to be pretty nice and sunny. It was crazy gorgeous earlier today. I had asked Joe if he would get me some flowers for our anniversary next week, and boy, did he deliver. So I spent this afternoon making the outside of our house nice and Springish. 

Joe had gone on a hike with the three biggers so I got these cuties to help me. And actually, they were relatively helpful! Now I just need to keep the plants alive :)

I don't even....

Well, my last post was about a month ago, so it's kind of hard to know where to start. Should I journal? Just ramble? Oh, the indecisiveness.

So, it's gorgeous here right this current moment. I think it might actually stay Spring pretty much now? Oh, mountain living. I don't know why I bother to even look at the forecast cause it isn't right more than half the time. And the changes! Wake up to snow, have it melt, comfortable sunshine for a couple of hours, clouds then rain, sometimes small hail-like pellets. I had kind of forgotten. And it's been exceptionally unpredictable this month. Life lesson: seize the moment. Truly. I was vacuuming one morning, intending to sit in the sunshine when I got done. I have three floors of carpets, so it took 45 minutes. And as I was putting the vacuum away, this huge, sun-blocking cloud came over the house. I shall sit in the sun when I can. Vacuuming can wait. The sun won't always be out.

Bathroom reno is done. Okay, 99% done. We need to put in a threshold between the bathroom and the hallway. But there are no ants, you can use the bathroom and wash your hands in there, and it doesn't smell like cat pee. Win!

The kids are kids. We are doing some math lessons. And probably writing lessons, this summer between visitors. This is rather anti-climactic for my kids, since there is no official "end" to school. Oh well. I also need to decide what I am doing with each of them next year. I hate deciding. Seriously, if I could have someone meet the kids, talk to them, and then pick out what to teach them and just tell me (and buy the curriculum and books, too, please?) that'd be awesome. Curriculum choices are not for the indecisive.

George is beautiful and exhausting. Sweet with the best smile sometimes, screaming like a banshee sometimes. Playing with Adelle and going along with her games sometimes, kicking his siblings at random at times. Charming sometimes. Kind of beasty. He is my 5th child and usually at least one time each day I think, "I have no idea how to deal with this child." Only there are more expletives in my thoughts.

I've felt for some time that something is "off" with him. Like I said, he's my 5th, this isn't my first rodeo. So I've talked with some early childhood people at the school district about him, we did a screening which they looked and he's going to have an evaluation in August.  It's kind of humbling to tell people, "I am just not sure how to handle this kid".  I am praying that between the evaluation and/ or preschool, he will figure out ways to deal with some of his things and I can figure out how to respond in the most effective way to some of his behaviors. Whew, parenting. Not for the faint-hearted.

Lifewise, moving has taken some adjustment, but comparatively, it has been such a smooth transition. People at Church have so welcoming, inviting our family to Easter, to birthdays, to random get togethers. It's been pretty amazing.  And the family time! Hikes and picnics and more hikes. There is so much to do here, even if it is just finding an amazing trail and walking for hours.  Joe and I have started taking a walk around the "block" at lunchtime, about 1.5 miles and it is wonderful. Good for the body, good for the soul. When we were walking today, I kept taking in deep breaths of fragrant, pine and aspen-scented mountain air. So fantastic.

Not perfect, but perfect for us :)

Out my window: It has actually been dreary and rainy this morning, but the sun just popped up over the mountain and from behind a cloud. I don't know how long that'll last but it is beautiful :)

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, blue striped long sleeved T, grey fleece and purple cabled hat.

Around the house: Well, we are undertaking a basement bathroom renovation, a bit earlier than we had anticipated :P The basement bathroom (half bath, actually, no shower or tub) was carpeted. And the carpet had been used by a cat as a litter pan at some point before we lived here. I noticed it was stinky when we saw the house last summer.  But it actually didn't smell too bad when we moved in, so we left the carpet and figured we could deal with it later.

A couple weeks ago, Joe steamcleaned the basement carpet including the bathroom.  A couple days later, I noticed that there was a bunch of sand around the base of the toilet. It looked odd, not like sand that would come off someone's shoes. The next day at bedtime, Isabelle came out and let us know that there were ants in the sand. Hmmmm. So we pulled up the carpet around the toilet and yes, that was not sand but ant hills. We vacuumed what we could and Joe decided to take up the remaining carpet and take the toilet off the next morning.

He set to it the next morning and oh. my.  He called me down and said, "Are you ready for this?" Uhhhhh? No?  Underneath the toilet (under the bowl part) was the biggest ant colony you could imagine living under a toilet, complete with larvae. *shudder*  The best we can figure is that the wax ring deteriorated,  rotted the wood around the pipe, allowing the ants to push through and set up house. Ahhhh, home ownership is neat sometimes.

Hence our bump on the reflooring project. We actually decided to switch the sink/ cabinet and mirrors in the basement bath with the one in our hall bath, which I think looks nice :)  Now we are painting the basement bath, Joe is putting down flooring and making sure the ants are done with. Then we will put the toilet and sink back in. Fun times.

Life with Kids: Liam received his First Communion on April 19th. It was a great day. He was so happy and excited.

Journal: Fun school things

Out my window: The sun is rising over the mountain. It was sunny and in the 60s yesterday, supposed to be cold today and then snow tomorrow and Friday. Ah, mountains.

Clothing myself in: Brown yoga pants, grey Jackson Hole long sleeve T, grey fleece.

Around the house: I have two baskets of clean laundry that have been sitting in my living room for 4? 5? days. And actually, by the time I put it away, it's going to be time to do laundry again, darn it! Mom and Dad Marney are coming to visit this weekend and to help us celebrate Liam's First Communion, so I am going to spiff up the house a bit. Maybe put away things that I've been meaning to actually put away for the last month? Joe hung up some art and photos on the walls this weekend, which is exciting.

Life with Kids: Our local school district has something they call "Homeschool Enrichment Academy".  They have had the program at the other elementary school in the district and now they are going to have it in the elementary school near our house, as well.  They have a separate building on the school campus where the homeschoolers will  gather to do, well, enriching, things- art, music, PE, Science projects, public speaking in the form of sharing what they are working on at home, Lego robotics. It looks fun and fantastic. A way for them to meet friends, get in all those "extras".  They are also able to be a part of all the extra-curriculars available to all the other kids in the district. It is pretty exciting.

We are also going to enroll George in preschool there as well. It'll be Monday- Thursday, half day. I am interested to see how that will go. We have never had a child go to preschool before.  But we are still taking our school or homeschooling choices "year by year and child by child". I am hoping that it will be a helpful experience for him. We talked with the preschool teachers yesterday and I think it will be a good fit. It is play-based, with a touch of "academics" but very at their level and low pressure.

Liam received his First Reconciliation on March 28th and will be receiving his First Communion this Sunday the 19th.  He is so excited. He has waited years for this!

Bringing me joy: Girl's night with some new friends, Triduum services with my big kids, exciting homeschool opportunities, how amazingly welcoming people in our Church and school communities have been, reading in the sunshine on the deck, the smell of sun-warmed pine trees, cute little squirrels, weekend adventures, new nail polish in the loveliest shade of pink, beer at local pub with my hubby.

House Tour Part II- The Main Floor

Okay so Joe actually did Part I- The Basement on his blog about a month ago.  So you can mosey on over there for the pictures of the basement/ ground floor.

 This is the view from the side door.  To my right are the stairs to go to the loft/ master bedroom. You will have to wait for that until next post because I can only clean one floor of my house at a time. That doorway across the room and to the right is the entrance to the dining room.

 Dining room when you are standing in the kitchen.

 Kitchen when you are standing in the dining room. Also, the doorway across the room and to the right goes to the hallway and also loops back around to the living room.

 Hallway. From the left- Bathroom, Big Boy's Room, Adelle and George's Room, gate leads to the Basement.

 Bathroom. I love shower doors! I can shut the water and splashing in with the little kids while they bathe.

 Adelle and George's Room. 

 View 2 of their room.

 Big Boy's room. I am actually standing next to where the Lego table is, which still needs legs so I am not going to take a picture of it. 

So there you go! 

Around the house here

I have taken a few pictures around the house the last few weeks. I finally got around to dumping them on the computer, so here we are.  Welcome to our home!

 Isaac helping make some granola bars. He really likes helping in the kitchen.

 My boys doing something? involving ants?  I don't know, but this was a unified project that kept them busy for at least an hour one day. Which is kind of miraculous.

 The girls and I watched from the deck.

 We have been in desperate need of a fresh stash of play dough, so we made some this morning.  The entertainment lasted hours. I had to give the carpet a good vacuum afterwards, but it was totally worth it.

 A heart for me.

 Volcano

 Even my big girl had fun!

Uh, this little project (we dyed the playdough with frosting dye) left my hands quite discolored, even after washing. Oh well, I suppose it has to come off eventually?

 Issy staged this and took the picture when she was playing with the littles one morning. 

She also set up this tea party for them.

Visit to the Great Sand Dunes

I visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park about 15? years ago, and I was just so taken with it. It is just an amazing slice of this wonderful Earth. A huge (seriously, huge!) pile of sand nestled up against gorgeous mountains. I have wanted to go back for many years and when I knew we were moving to Colorado that it was something I wanted to share with my family. So even though it is a three hour drive, we packed some food, threw the kids and dog in the car and made a day of it. I am really glad we did. We even got to see some amazing clouds in our drive home.