but I'm going to try harder, promise! I swear this last couple weeks, more than once I've said to myself 'you need to update that blog' and have every intention of doing so, and something else comes up. Well it's 6:30 in the morning, my eyes are red and itchy from allergies and I'm waiting for the Claritin to kick in, the house is still quiet, so I'm updating.
I can't even remember what I've posted about recently, so if I repeat myself...ah, who cares, it's MY blog, right, lol!? I do know that I haven't posted about my most recent 'Mission' and that is 'Mission: Organization'. 'The Little' and I spent spring break decluttering and organizing and man does it feel good! I have my room back, it's gone from that place where we dumped everything we didn't know what to do with, covered in clothes neither of us wears, hogged up by a bed no one slept in, to a nice, neat, bright, organized space that includes a nice desk area for me, love it! It's girly and bright and happy and I love sitting in there and having that little bit of 'me' space. We really got a lot done, now I need to find the motivation to keep going with the projects we have left, and then keep it all nice and organized.
On the negative side of spring break, my car ended up in the shop and ended up needing $850 worth of work...so NOT cool! I try NOT to think about that fact that a week off of school and $850 could have been used in so many better ways! But the good news is I'm at a point where I don't think there's anything left to replace on that car (knock wood) so I should be good to go for a good bit.
Only 6 weeks of classes left! I'm not finding myself as happy as a student this semester, and I hope I can shake that. I know it's in part because I'm also taking on 'The Little's' education, as well as dealing with the new diagnosis and resulting therapies/appointments so I'm trying not to beat myself up and just working on finding the balance to get through this (now less than) 6 weeks. I'm taking the summer off, or if anything, maybe taking an online class, and it'll be nice to have no deadlines and be able to do the rest of the things I'd like to around the house, go on day trips with 'The Little', spend lazy days by the pool, and hopefully work on getting my weight loss going again.
I think I've babbled on long enough for the moment, I'm going to try to come post again before the week is out. Happy Spring!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
I'm still here!
The world has been on fast forward these last couple weeks, seems like the minute I get some down time, something else needs to be done! I guess my new mission is to update this blog more often! I've never looked forward to spring break as much as I am right now, 7 more days of classes (1 project, one quiz, one paper and 5 exams in those seven days) and I now 'get it' as to why we need a spring break!
We've had some new news lately, 'The Little' got to go see the OT again last week, and she shared some things she noted during his evaluations. We're being referred to both a physical therapist and a developmental pediatrician, fun times. I'm trying to move past the anger and guilt of the whole thing and focus on what we need to do, but it's hard. The good news is that even though he is a bit older than most kids when all of these things are discovered, he can benefit from the therapies. He's such a great kid, I'm constantly amazed at him, and the improvements he's made just in this last not even two months are awesome. He sat in on a meeting I had with a dean today and the dean was just so impressed with him, saying he's the best behaved kid he's seen in a long time and I should be proud...darn tootin' I am!
In other big news, 'The Little' has finally started karate, we shopped around and found a program that he liked, and bonus, it's cheaper than anything else we've looked at. He's had two classes and of course I'm biased, but watching him and comparing him to the other new kids, he's definitely taking it more seriously than the others. I know it'll be good for him, and his OT said that kids like him benefit from things like that, so yay!
We spent this past Saturday in New York and minus one full on panic attack coming off the subway, he had a great day! The weather was horrendous-rainy cold and windy all day long-but we still had fun. As we walked up to the front of the AMNH, he looked at me and said "thanks for making one of my lifelong dreams come true!" He was so darn excited to go to that museum and he soaked it all in and wants to go back. We'll have to see, he's got a lot of 'dreams' in that head of his, touring DC, Philadelphia, even right here around Baltimore, the zoo, etc. Busy spring and summer ahead for us!
My mission to improve my health/weight is slow going, but it's about to get a boost. Thanks to my Nurtrition class, there are some foods I no longer want to eat or give to The Little. Y'know, stuff like conventional meat/chicken, that kind of stuff. I need to figure out how to swing the cost of the occasional organic/local/free range meats but for the most part, we're going to base meals around veggies with less meat/poultry. Even The Little gets it and as we discussed it this afternoon, he summed it all up "you can't put a price tag on your life". This was his response to me saying that the 'good' meats are more expensive. I love this smart kiddo I've got!
I'll be back to update again soon!
We've had some new news lately, 'The Little' got to go see the OT again last week, and she shared some things she noted during his evaluations. We're being referred to both a physical therapist and a developmental pediatrician, fun times. I'm trying to move past the anger and guilt of the whole thing and focus on what we need to do, but it's hard. The good news is that even though he is a bit older than most kids when all of these things are discovered, he can benefit from the therapies. He's such a great kid, I'm constantly amazed at him, and the improvements he's made just in this last not even two months are awesome. He sat in on a meeting I had with a dean today and the dean was just so impressed with him, saying he's the best behaved kid he's seen in a long time and I should be proud...darn tootin' I am!
In other big news, 'The Little' has finally started karate, we shopped around and found a program that he liked, and bonus, it's cheaper than anything else we've looked at. He's had two classes and of course I'm biased, but watching him and comparing him to the other new kids, he's definitely taking it more seriously than the others. I know it'll be good for him, and his OT said that kids like him benefit from things like that, so yay!
We spent this past Saturday in New York and minus one full on panic attack coming off the subway, he had a great day! The weather was horrendous-rainy cold and windy all day long-but we still had fun. As we walked up to the front of the AMNH, he looked at me and said "thanks for making one of my lifelong dreams come true!" He was so darn excited to go to that museum and he soaked it all in and wants to go back. We'll have to see, he's got a lot of 'dreams' in that head of his, touring DC, Philadelphia, even right here around Baltimore, the zoo, etc. Busy spring and summer ahead for us!
My mission to improve my health/weight is slow going, but it's about to get a boost. Thanks to my Nurtrition class, there are some foods I no longer want to eat or give to The Little. Y'know, stuff like conventional meat/chicken, that kind of stuff. I need to figure out how to swing the cost of the occasional organic/local/free range meats but for the most part, we're going to base meals around veggies with less meat/poultry. Even The Little gets it and as we discussed it this afternoon, he summed it all up "you can't put a price tag on your life". This was his response to me saying that the 'good' meats are more expensive. I love this smart kiddo I've got!
I'll be back to update again soon!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
New Adventures on the Homeschool Front!
I know, two posts in one day?!
We're having a great week, went to a homeschooling meeting Monday night, met a few people, and even got together with some of them today. 'The Little' made a friend and they really hit it off! A boy the same age who likes Harry Potter and has a similar fun energy, what's not to like?
At the same time, when I decided to homeschool, I talked with 'Little' about our options for approaches to what kind of formats to use, etc. He wholeheartedly wanted an online program so that's what we've been using since we started this journey. He announced to me that he wants to try other things now, so I'm back on the hunt for curriculum that works for us. For the last couple days we've been doing simple printables from the internet and he's loving them! I would have thought that worksheets would be the least appealing for him, being a sensory seeking, hands on kind of kid. But he likes them...for now!
Homeschooling is a definite challenge in the sense that it's ever changing and you need to be ready to drop and change things as needed/wanted. And the best part is, you can do just that!
We're having a great week, went to a homeschooling meeting Monday night, met a few people, and even got together with some of them today. 'The Little' made a friend and they really hit it off! A boy the same age who likes Harry Potter and has a similar fun energy, what's not to like?
At the same time, when I decided to homeschool, I talked with 'Little' about our options for approaches to what kind of formats to use, etc. He wholeheartedly wanted an online program so that's what we've been using since we started this journey. He announced to me that he wants to try other things now, so I'm back on the hunt for curriculum that works for us. For the last couple days we've been doing simple printables from the internet and he's loving them! I would have thought that worksheets would be the least appealing for him, being a sensory seeking, hands on kind of kid. But he likes them...for now!
Homeschooling is a definite challenge in the sense that it's ever changing and you need to be ready to drop and change things as needed/wanted. And the best part is, you can do just that!
Big day today!
We've had a bit of an up and down kind of day and it's one of those that we'll look back and remember for awhile.
We finally had our appointment to find out what exactly makes 'the Little' tick. I've briefly mentioned that he's a bit unique and now we know a bit more as to exactly why that is. There has been suspicion that he may have Sensory Processing Disorder and that was confirmed today. There's a huge whirlwind of emotions when you get answers, no matter what they are. I've dealt with the guilt of not being able to figure this out sooner, the regret for so much wasted time, the sadness at another 'label' that confirms that he's 'unique', but also the relief that we're on our way towards progress, and toss in a bit of a renewed confidence in my 'mommy gut' because a mom just knows! So moms out there, when you know something isn't quite right with your babes, follow that instinct and don't question yourself!
He got a taste of therapy today and will actually get to start pretty soon, usually there's a wait but they had an appointment slot that works with our schedules and had just been given permission to fill it with a new patient, so we took it. He really enjoyed the sensory gym and watching him playing brought tears to my eyes. I keep hearing what the psychologist who did his psych eval told me, that there's a marked decrease in the symptoms of anxiety disorder and ADHD when a child is treated for sensory issues. To know that we may have even brighter days ahead makes me want to dance and shout and back flip! He's made SO much improvement just in the last month or so since I took him out of school, and it might get even better?? There's hope that my beautiful boy can lead a relatively 'normal' life! So many things make so much more sense already, and there's more of that in our futures now!
We finally had our appointment to find out what exactly makes 'the Little' tick. I've briefly mentioned that he's a bit unique and now we know a bit more as to exactly why that is. There has been suspicion that he may have Sensory Processing Disorder and that was confirmed today. There's a huge whirlwind of emotions when you get answers, no matter what they are. I've dealt with the guilt of not being able to figure this out sooner, the regret for so much wasted time, the sadness at another 'label' that confirms that he's 'unique', but also the relief that we're on our way towards progress, and toss in a bit of a renewed confidence in my 'mommy gut' because a mom just knows! So moms out there, when you know something isn't quite right with your babes, follow that instinct and don't question yourself!
He got a taste of therapy today and will actually get to start pretty soon, usually there's a wait but they had an appointment slot that works with our schedules and had just been given permission to fill it with a new patient, so we took it. He really enjoyed the sensory gym and watching him playing brought tears to my eyes. I keep hearing what the psychologist who did his psych eval told me, that there's a marked decrease in the symptoms of anxiety disorder and ADHD when a child is treated for sensory issues. To know that we may have even brighter days ahead makes me want to dance and shout and back flip! He's made SO much improvement just in the last month or so since I took him out of school, and it might get even better?? There's hope that my beautiful boy can lead a relatively 'normal' life! So many things make so much more sense already, and there's more of that in our futures now!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Love a good bargain!
Don't you just love the 'bargain high'? We spent yesterday doing a little shopping and managed to rack up some great deals. Pretty happy with our 'haul' and 'The Little' is pretty darn impressed with himself as well. He managed to find an $80+ toy set in brand new condition for a whopping $4 at the Goodwill store. His grandma snatched it up and he and his cousin and our little 2 yo buddy played together for hours and it was nothing short of adorable! $4 to bring together three wildly different kids...that's a deal! 'The Little' is too old to have it here for himself, but still gets to play with it at grandma's, so it's a win win for him!
Always fun to get the kiddos involved in the bargain hunting, and I love watching him get excited over his new stuff. He was sitting at grandma's last night and out of the blue says 'thank you mom for getting me perfection' (found the travel version new in the box for $2) and his uncle asked what he said and when I repeated him, he just smiled and said 'he's a good kid'. He sure is a good kid, I'm lucky to have him!
Always fun to get the kiddos involved in the bargain hunting, and I love watching him get excited over his new stuff. He was sitting at grandma's last night and out of the blue says 'thank you mom for getting me perfection' (found the travel version new in the box for $2) and his uncle asked what he said and when I repeated him, he just smiled and said 'he's a good kid'. He sure is a good kid, I'm lucky to have him!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Another step forward!
I've taken action on my health over the last several months, little by little, bit by bit. Without getting into too much detail, I've made steps towards a huge piece of all of this for myself, and anyone who is a mom knows how hard it can be to make time for yourself. Hoping to keep moving forward there. This relates to a lot of my 'missions', in fact, in a way, it affects all of them.
So I'm getting ready to watch Fast Food Nation, grabbed the book too, their relevant to my nutrition class but I'll admit to having been afraid to watch/read because I don't know if I wanna know, yk? If it's bad enough to keep me away from the drive thrus (which we rarely hit anyway) then that could be a good step on the weight loss mission!
Back with my thoughts on it later!
So I'm getting ready to watch Fast Food Nation, grabbed the book too, their relevant to my nutrition class but I'll admit to having been afraid to watch/read because I don't know if I wanna know, yk? If it's bad enough to keep me away from the drive thrus (which we rarely hit anyway) then that could be a good step on the weight loss mission!
Back with my thoughts on it later!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
More on the missions...
I'll get through them all at some point! In fact, I can probably roll those last few together.
Successful student. I'm a full time student in my first year of school. This past fall was my first exposure to college (I'm one of those 'non-traditional' students) and it's been interesting. I did very well with a 4.0 for the fall semester and took a class over winter which proved to be a bit more challenging but I managed to get a B. Those winter classes sure go fast! Anyhow, I've got an interesting course load this semester and am currently looking for the happy balance to keep up with all of my classes. I've learned that taking the first exam or getting back that first graded project is a good way to get the feel for the rest of the semester and I think I'm at that point now, between today and Monday I'll have had something major in every class and I'll be able to get a better feel for things going forward. Right now, I've got so much reading to do, it makes my head hurt just thinking about it all! But I'll get through it, because I'm a M.O.M!
Successful student. I'm a full time student in my first year of school. This past fall was my first exposure to college (I'm one of those 'non-traditional' students) and it's been interesting. I did very well with a 4.0 for the fall semester and took a class over winter which proved to be a bit more challenging but I managed to get a B. Those winter classes sure go fast! Anyhow, I've got an interesting course load this semester and am currently looking for the happy balance to keep up with all of my classes. I've learned that taking the first exam or getting back that first graded project is a good way to get the feel for the rest of the semester and I think I'm at that point now, between today and Monday I'll have had something major in every class and I'll be able to get a better feel for things going forward. Right now, I've got so much reading to do, it makes my head hurt just thinking about it all! But I'll get through it, because I'm a M.O.M!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The missions...continued...
So mission number two is regaining control over my weight issue. Anyone who knows me knows I kicked arse and dropped a bunch of weight over the last couple years. In the last few months, due to some outside 'influences' (i.e. bad meds) I managed to completely lose control of my eating, weight, etc. So I'm on a mission to get that under control again, and the first step there was to talk to a therapist because I need to get the emotional thing under control again.
I miss the person I was becoming, full of energy, more confident, in control, etc. I want to be that person again, so I'm on a mission to make it happen!
The rest of the missions...later!
I miss the person I was becoming, full of energy, more confident, in control, etc. I want to be that person again, so I'm on a mission to make it happen!
The rest of the missions...later!
So...the missions!
As I said, I'm the M.O.M, that's Mom on a Mission. Right now, I've got several missions and figured it only makes sense to share them here, right?
The mission that is consuming me at the moment is that of Homeschool mom. This is a relatively new mission for me, as I've only recently taken on this challenge. I got fed up with a school system that didn't want to help in the slightest. 'The Little' is a great kid and he was struggling and suffering and I couldn't stand by and watch him slip through the cracks. So I took matters into my own hands, spent some time researching our options, and then in a sort of sudden (yes, I had been planning, but hadn't made a final decision) step, made the last day of the grading period this past January, the last day that 'The Little' had to go to school.
Sure, it's only been what, three weeks? In that short period of time, the changes have been phenomenal. He's so much calmer, the stressful outbursts have calmed (more about his 'uniqueness' at another time) and get this, he's EAGER to learn! As I type this, he's working on a 4 part lesson on language arts and it's not even officially our 'school time' at the moment! I know that kids are born with a love of learning, and I see now how schools that force every kid into that same box or to walk the same line are squashing that in a kid like mine, so I'm doing what I can to keep that love alive! So far, so good!
The consuming part is that, like most other HS'ers I've talked to, I'm on a quest to find *the* ultimate curriculum, learning tools, etc. We're still trying to find our 'groove' so to speak, but little by little, things are falling into place. I'm learning that the best part about schooling at home is that if it doesn't work, we can ditch it and move on to something that will, and that is GREAT!
So, that's the First Mission. More to come later!
The mission that is consuming me at the moment is that of Homeschool mom. This is a relatively new mission for me, as I've only recently taken on this challenge. I got fed up with a school system that didn't want to help in the slightest. 'The Little' is a great kid and he was struggling and suffering and I couldn't stand by and watch him slip through the cracks. So I took matters into my own hands, spent some time researching our options, and then in a sort of sudden (yes, I had been planning, but hadn't made a final decision) step, made the last day of the grading period this past January, the last day that 'The Little' had to go to school.
Sure, it's only been what, three weeks? In that short period of time, the changes have been phenomenal. He's so much calmer, the stressful outbursts have calmed (more about his 'uniqueness' at another time) and get this, he's EAGER to learn! As I type this, he's working on a 4 part lesson on language arts and it's not even officially our 'school time' at the moment! I know that kids are born with a love of learning, and I see now how schools that force every kid into that same box or to walk the same line are squashing that in a kid like mine, so I'm doing what I can to keep that love alive! So far, so good!
The consuming part is that, like most other HS'ers I've talked to, I'm on a quest to find *the* ultimate curriculum, learning tools, etc. We're still trying to find our 'groove' so to speak, but little by little, things are falling into place. I'm learning that the best part about schooling at home is that if it doesn't work, we can ditch it and move on to something that will, and that is GREAT!
So, that's the First Mission. More to come later!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
