Wordless Wednesday - My boys

A haircut for Granny

When we were in Florida my mom thought it would be a good thing to get Alexandra a hair cut. Just to trim her hair up. Both Alexandra and I told her no. So, after I got home I thought about what she said (see mom, I do listen to you)and I talked to Alexandra about it. She thought it would be fine. So, I trimmed it. Here's a pic of the new do. She's not real thrilled with it since it's too short to really braid it but other than that I think it's really cute a little shorter.

I think it was harder on me

Today was the day I had been dreading for a while. Sebastian started his preschool class today. We all headed to the school. Sebastian went right in and started to play. We had to check in with the lunch lady and once we left he started to cry. We peeked in the window and the Teacher told me that he was upset and she was holding him. She told me to go. I started to cry as we walked out the door. Alexandra asked me what was wrong. I told her that dropping Sebastian was hard for me and it made me sad. I could tell she didn't get it. I cried more on the way home. We got home and got Atticus to bed and Alexandra was getting ready for rest time. I started to cry again. Alexandra said, mom you don't have to be sad, I'm not sad. He'll be back in a couple of hours. Plus, you have that other boy in the other room." I laughed through my tears and I said, "I also have you". We picked him up around 3:30 PM and he was really happy to see us. The Teacher said he did really well and got a star on his hand for helping to pick up toys. She said they played in the gym and he was kicking balls and running around. He told me as we left that he had a good time and wanted to go back. He fell asleep on the way home and he slept in the car for about an hour. He was a little out of sorts tonight, I think it'll be a few days or even into next week to transition out of his nap time.

I of course analyzed why this was so upsetting to me to leave him at preschool today. I cried when I dropped Alexandra off but I also knew she and I were both ready. I hadn't prepared myself for this like I did with her. I think my other concern was that the teachers wouldn't get him, like I get him and maybe they won't but that doesn't mean they can't help him. I also don't want him to be mistreated. It's not that I get that feeling but it would pain me to know we made this decision and it hurt him in some way instead of helping him. I guess I'll leave it at that for now. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts tomorrow.

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The time of our lives

Sorry I haven't been able to update via utterz but my cell phone hasn't been working in Port. Yesterday we were in Cozumel and it was awesome. We snokeled, enjoyed the ocean on a private beach and had an awesome ride on a catamaran. We also had a great time yesterday at dinner with our new friends Kelly and Chris and Wendy and David. Ask me about the game show the Quest. I won't blog about it here. We arrived in Progreso this morning and it was raining and cloudy. It was still warm though. We visited a mayan ruins site and it was fantastic. I'll post pics soon. We enjoyed climing the ruins and seeing the country side of Mexico. Progreso is a fairly new port and the city isn't quite the tourist mecca that Cozumel is. We've had rough seas most of the time but Paul has not been sick anymore. Tonight we'll enjoy another delicious dinner with our table mates and then hopefully have a warm and sunny day at sea. We'll arrive back at Tampa at 7 AM on Saturday. This trip has been a great time for Paul and I to reconnect and just talk about stuff and really cut loose and have a great time together, like we did early in our marriage. This was well worth the money for the encouragment it's been to our relationship. Please continue to pray for my mom and Russ as they are still taking care of the three little ones. I'll post more soon!

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Today is the day

We arrived in Florida save and sound. It was really late and Sebastian decided he didn't want to sleep in the playard, he wanted to sleep in the big bed with Alexandra. He did and pretty much stayed in the bed until morning. Hopefully, this will help him transition to the big bed when we get home. We also left Sebastian's nite-nite at home in Michigan. Granny saved the day and went and bought him a new one and we made a big deal about it when we arrived. Out of the three, he's the one who would deal with it the best! He's done really well. Atticus I think is still recovering from the sickness and is still pretty tired. We will leave for Tampa today at 2 PM and hopefully be on the boat and ready to sail by 3 PM. Last night I started to think about being away from the kids for that long and it started to bother me. I know they will be well taken care of here with My mom and Russ, it's still a litte weird to know we'll be gone for 5 days. Oh and for my friends in cooler climates, the weather has been sunny and 85 to 90 here. The kids have been loving being outside and playing in the pool. It's been so nice! I hope to update either by Utterz or via the internet while on the boat to keep a record of our trip!

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Crazy Time

Our OT , Joann has recommended that we do some things to help reset Sebastian's vestibular system. I have called this crazy time in our house. The kids get to jump on the bed and run around and be "crazy". The physical activity stimulates Sebastian's large muscle groups and it also helps all the kids to let off some steam. As you can see from the pics, they are having a good time.

The Sickness has got to go

Ok so last week it was colds and sinus infections. I thought, ok great we'll be good to go for vacation. Then, I get this in bed all day stomach flu yesterday. For the first time ever in our marriage, I called Paul at work and asked him to please come home. I was either on the couch or in the bathroom. Paul got home around 12:30 PM and I was in bed the rest of the day until 7:30 PM. It was horrible. I'm thankful that today I am feeling better but still not well. I've been praying the kids don't get it especially since we fly to florida on Saturday. Paul is still fighting his infection and is hoping to get more medicine tomorrow. The kids seem to be all over everything so I'll keep praying that they stay well. Paul and I leave Tampa on a royal caribbean cruise for 5 nights. I am so excited. I just realized last night that I've never been to Mexico and our cruise will make two stops in Mexico. Oh and keep checking back next week, I hope to be posting pics and sound from our cruise!

Sebastian Update

We had Sebastian's IEP on Friday. I was on my own, other than the prayers of faithful friends and family. Joann couldn't make it. I met with the school psychologist and the teacher for the ECDD class. Joann had given me a list of questions specifically about the OT and the training the teachers had. Sebastian's sensory issues have flared up quite a bit in the last week. He's telling me more and more that things are too loud like music and TV. Joann wants us to start what they call "Theraputic Listening". It's where we put headphones on with his favorite song or my voice and set it at a level where it's comfortable for him. Then we do that for a few days and then take it up a level and see how he responds. We are also going to be starting the "brushing technique" to help with the touch sensitivity. Joann wanted to make sure that if we put him in the classroom, they would continue to help me with those things. Joann will train me as well so that I can do those things at home. The teacher assured me that if that's what he needs, they will be trained and will do what the OT in the classroom suggests. They will also allow activities every day he's there that will help stimulate his vestibular system. We are also asking the dr. to refer us to a audiologist to determine whether or not there is anything physically wrong wit his inner ear since he does have balance problems. I decided to sign the agreement to put him in the afternoon classroom starting March 25th. He'll be going 3 1/2 days which is better than the 4 I thought. On a good note, his gross motor skills are improving and his speech is so much better. He continues to amaze me with the things he says. He's also learning more and more about sharing and caring. He accidentally kicked me in the face the other day on the swing. I said to him that he hurt me. He said, oh mama, I'm so sorry! I'm very thankful for the help we are receiving and I hope that by the fall he'll be ready for a mainstream 2 day preschool.

The process

Although I'm in Gr right now helping out with WaYfm's sharathon, I'm also still processing what happened yesterday when we visited the ECDD classroom. Sebastian didn't really engage with the kids when the music was playing and they were dancing around. Now that I look back, he had his fingers in his ears. He usually dances around when we play music at home. I talked to Joann today and she said it seems his auditory issues are really progressing. He started to tell me when I rip the sides of his pull up to change him, that its too loud. I think as we continue to progress with him, other issues are rearing their heads. Joann will advocate for him on Friday that maybe the classroom isn't the best thing for him that maybe one on one therapy. I think the socialization and the extra work would be really good for him but I don't want him to be overwhelmed with all the noise. Oh, I have so much on my mind but I am having a great time on the radio. I'm on between 3 and 5 PM. And then 6 to 8 PM. Listen live now at Way.fm

I'm a believer

As I go through the struggles with Sebastian I have felt God share with me about what my struggles are and how I dishonor God and My Husband as I struggle with Food and Money issues. Tonight I shared some of that with Paul and for the first time we had a civil conversation about it. I truly believe that it went so well because I was honest, upfront and owned up to my stuff. I tell you it is so shameful to have to face your stuff with the person you Love the most. Paul finally understood that my actions are not acts of defiance. I spend and eat too much because I'm trying to fill a need with those things that I should be getting filled by God. I told him I couldn't be out here all alone anymore. I need guidance and accountability. He for the first time that I was more important to him than Money or Debt. I needed to hear those words. I needed to hear that I was more important to him than fixing these things in our life. I'm considering seeking some counseling for these issues. My call to you is, if you are hiding something from someone you love, don't let it rule your life. Sit down with them, share the honest truth that you are struggling and that you need their help. You can't go it alone anymore. It's hard, but to be unburdened Is so much better.

Busy, busy, busy

It seems like this is just a busy time of year for us. Alexandra has had school three days a week, Sebastian still does his therapy once a week and Atticus is just all over the place all the time. I'm working on a spaghetti dinner and auction for the preschool. I've secured donations and meat for the dinner. That doesn't happen until March 27th. Sebastian's IEP meeting is this Friday and I needed to stop by the classroom this week. We did that today. Sebastian did well and I think I'll be good for him. I'm the one that is having a hard time with it. He told me after we left "mama, that sandbox was so nice!". I chuckled. The kids in the class had a lot of speech issues and a few had physical issues. Tomorrow I head to GR for Sharathon 2008 for WayFM. I'll be on tomorrow at 10 am and then throughout the day and Thursday as well starting at 7 AM. As I said I have Sebastian's IEP on Friday. Whew! I'm tired already and I haven't even gone through it all. The nice thing is that these kinds of things usually energize me so I should come off of the two days. I will try to give an update while I'm in GR but we'll have to see.

Oh, too funny

Alexandra heads down the stairs tonight and here's how the conversation went:

Me: What are you doing out of bed?

Alexandra: Something is wrong mom?

Me: What?

A: Well, Buddy got out of his bed, he didn't turn on the light but he's in my bed, he won't leave so I can't go to sleep.

Me: Ok, I'll see what's going on. (I head into the room to find Buddy in Alexandra's bed reading a book.)

Sebastian: Mama, I reading.

Me: You need to be in your own bed, reading.

Sebastian: Oh, you right mama.

I put him in his bed. I smelled something. I asked If he had poopy.

Sebastian: No, I not. Bubba poopy.

Atticus is in a whole different room. It's funny. He won't tell me when he is, but he'll lie to me when he isn't to get out of bed. I'm hoping his escape tonight starts to push him to wanting to be in his own bed.

Wordless Wednesday - Pure Joy in a bucket

It's amazing at 4, she gets it

Today at lunch, Alexandra picked up the national right to life newspaper. On the front was a picture of a girl holding a sign that said "Abortion Kills Babies". She asked me what the sign said and I told her. She first said, they want to kill Bubba? I told her no that it happens when the babies are in their mommies tummy. She said I don't understand why people would kill babies. I told her I didn't understand either. She said mom we need to make cards and hand them out to people. The cards needed to say, "Stop killing babies". She told me she wanted to hand them out to people at church. I told her I thought people at church probably agreed with her position to stop killing babies. Just so you know, we have never talked to her about this. It's so interesting to me that she gets that killing babies is wrong. My little activist, she makes me so proud!

My Trip to Old Navy

Since it's Thursday, I got to get out of the house this evening. I decided to head over to Old Navy to see what kind of sales they had. I found a few things and headed up to the register to pay. I went to a lane that had a woman and a man behind the register. The woman said hello and said that she was being trained. The guy, leaned over the counter and said, what you doing later tonight? I paused, said, well later tonight I'm watching Lost. He said, oh, you want a cuddle buddy? I replied, I already have one, note the diamonds on my hand. "Oh, that is just too bad." I said I also have 3 kids that he probably didn't want to have responsibility for. "Oh I love kids, I'm doing my student teaching right now". Ok so that means he must be about 10 years younger that me. What? Even though it was probably harmless flirting, It made this 34 year old feel pretty good. Especially since he is 10 years younger than me.

Wordless Wednesday - Precious Daddy Time

That's a new verison of that song

For the longest time Alexandra would sing the "Veggie Tales Theme song" like this, Broccoli, Celery, combery, Veggie Tales. Paul and I would giggle to ourselves and say I wonder what Combery tastes like. Yesterday in the car she started to sing the song but with a little different twist. "Broccoli, Celery, gotta pee, veggie tales.". Now I don't think she really did but I laughed so hard I almost did.

It's a wonder what a few days can do

Thanks to all who have called and emailed to check on me after my post about Sebastian. I needed to process and pray and have a great conversation with our OT Joann. She has been a gift from God for me. She's acquainted with the system and what options I have. She also told me that she thinks they are pushing him through to the ECDD class so that he does get more help not because he's really as bad as they say. As we've done more self help things over the last few days, I see that he struggles but he's working on it. He can get his pants up part way but can't get them all the way up. He can sometimes get his boots on and can always get them off. He can put his own socks on. He's getting there. I also have been thinking also about the end of the conversation I had with Joann. I mentioned to her that I feel too emotional to be Sebastian's mom. She said, "Oh Heather, you are so much stronger than you feel right now. There are no mistakes Heather you are meant to be his mom." I feel my emotions, after I get through them, spur me on to make things better for him. If I didn't care so much for him, I wouldn't be going through this. As I've talked to some people about what's been going on with Sebastian, I've heard of so many moms who are living in denial that there's anything going on with their child. I can't do that. I love him too much to let these things go. Although, it will be tough emotionally for me, we'll keep working at this for him. Our long term goal is that he starts kindergarten with no seen problems. I guess this isn't just Sebastian's journey, It's my journey too!

It's time to vote!

The voting for the Love is.... photo contest is now open. If you like the photo further down the page please go here. I would love to win the gift card. You only have two more days left to vote. Thanks for the support!

A new journey for Sebastian

We had Sebastian's evaluation with the PET program today. There was a psychologist, speech pathologist, social worker and an ot. Our OT didn't make it and neither did the OT from the early on program. I was disappointed with that. After almost 2 hours of questions for me and tests for Sebastian, they came back with news I wasn't expecting. After a conversation with our OT, Joann, I figured they weren't going to be able to offer much to us. They do want him to be in an ECDD (Early Childhood Delayed Development)classroom. He's a year and a half behind in his self help skills like putting on and taking off clothes. They also think his sensory issues warrant him being in the special class. The good news is his speech is right where it should be along with his cognitive problem skills. Now I need to go and visit the classroom where they want to place him and see if it's something we want. Then we have another meeting with the team at the pet program to set goals for him and decide what we want to do. I know that what we've done up to this point has been great for him. It just always hard when someone tells you there's something wrong with your child. So needless to say I'm struggling with this. When you are pregnant, you never ever think somethings going to be wrong with your baby. That happens to other people. Now here we are. When praying today I felt God saying you know we all have our stuff, even your kids. It's easy to see Alexandra's issues, they are just like mine. Sebastian's are different. I'm not trained to help him. I feel like I can only go so far and now we need someone professional to step in. I just want to make sure that he's in a good environment for learning and socialization. In a moment of tears, I cried out to God that I'm not equipped to be Sebastian's mom, I'm too emotional. Clearly I heard, you are exactly the person to be his mother. I'm not sure what that means but I'm trusting that God knows what He's doing.

Happy Valentines day

Alexandra is so excited about Valentines day. I baked this heart cookie for school tomorrow and she put the hearts on. She also picked valentines for all her classmates and wrote their names on them. She was so proud to write them herself. I was very proud of her too. She wrote her own name on about half of them and then got tired. I can't really blame her. All the rest she just put a big A on them.

This is what a twiddle bug looks like after going through the Vacuum

I had to fish this out of the vacuum cleaner tonight after he got sucked up. Alexandra was afraid we'd never see him again. The look on her face endured me to stick my hand in the dirty vacuum bag! He's going in the washer tomorrow.

Write from Karen Photo Contest

Karen is doing it again! Here's my photo for the contest. This is from 2006 when Atticus was not even a month old yet. Alexandra got down on the floor with him and gave him a kiss. I think it is the epitome of Love. That's what Karen's theme was for this contest. I'll let you know when you can vote for me!

He really is his father's son

Tonight Sebastian was straggling behind while Alexandra and Atticus were in the bath. I came out of the bathroom and asked Paul where Sebastian was. He said he was in the living room reading his latest copy of the Economist. This is a very heady magazine just in case you haven't heard of it. I asked Sebastian what he was doing. He replied "looking at pictures". I said, "is it very interesting?" His reply " nope". I laughed out loud and Paul rolled his eyes.

The Audition

For some reason, Alexandra has decided that she needs to audition for a dance competition. I don't know where she got this from and no we have not been letting her stay up and watch American Idol. What I love is that Atticus is also auditioning in his own way. He's actually funnier than she is.

So this is what happens when I'm not here...

We had a craft night at church on Friday night which means that Daddy was home alone with the kids. He took a video of just a few of the antics that happened that night.

What a sweet girl.

For some reason I have had a really hard time getting rid of Alexandra's baby and toddler clothes. I decided I would go through some and get rid of some of them. I have a friend who will probably have kids in the next couple years so I'm saving some of my favorites for her. Anyway, Alexandra wanted to try on some of the clothes and was so disappointed they didn't fit her anymore. I found some really cute dresses and I got all nostalgic about how cute she looked in this dress when she was small. She looked at me for a few seconds, then smiled and came over an hugged me. She could tell that I was feeling sad that she was no longer that small. I always wanted my kids to have empathy and I saw that in that moment. Made me proud!

This boy loves his dinner

Although he would not cooperate with the camera you can see all the goulash on his face, clothes and head. I even saw him lick the bowl. Too funny! This does a mom's heart good.

Our SuperBowl party

We decided (at the last minute) to have a few people over for the superbowl. We really didn't care about the game but a great time to socialize. What you see on Alexandra and my friend Jan's head is a neck brace that Jan's husband had to wear because of neck surgery. He's been cleared to take it off for a while each day and Alexandra thought it made an excellent hat. She also had a nice time watching the game on our Friend Ron. I think everyone had a good time even the youngest attendee Thomas who slept in his mom's arms.

Our actions effect others in funny ways

Alexandra has started to cry and throw a fit when she can't, doesn't want to go to sleep at night. Tonight, she cried, saying she counted sheep and snuggled with her nite-nite and nothing is working. I got her some water and told her she just needed to settle down. Sebastian says, "mama, oh my head hurts. Sissy so loud mama." I had to hold back the laughter, it was so funny!

Oh that is so tasty

Sebastian's language has just jumped to amazing levels. Everyday it seems that he is saying some new complicated word pattern. One thing that he's started to do is comment on his drink and food choices. He'll say, "this is so nummy (yummy) or this is so tasty". I tried to get him to say it and of course in typical 3 year old fashion he wasn't very cooperative.

The kids at dinner

Dinner time around here can be pretty crazy. Today, everyone seemed in a good mood so I got out the camera.

The Erbe Super Heroes

This was too funny. Sebastian and Alexandra decided to tie their nite-nites around their necks and then put sunglasses on. Sebastian kept singing the superwhy theme song. I'm not sure Atticus knew what to think of all of it but he joined in happily just as he always does.

A bloggity break?

Although I never intended it, there was a break from blogging. Now don't get me wrong it's not that I haven't had a lot on my mind and the kids have been crazy with things to write about. Sometimes, your mind is full but you can't seem to put things into words. So sorry for the break. I'll stay back on track.

I now have a 4 1/2 year old

Alexandra's teacher asked if we could celebrate her 1/2 birthday today because we won't be in school in July. Of course, Alexandra was all over it. She has had enough of Sebastian's birthday celebrations so a celebration all for her was right up her alley. She asked for frosted brownies and we made birthday bags with candy for each of the kids. I was really proud of her. She decorated all the girls bags and wrote the first letter of each of the kids names on each of their bags. She did really well and got to wear a crown today during snack time. Tonight when we went to Wal-mart to pick up a few things, she said mommy I should get something for my half birthday. How could I resist. So we have a new book for her half birthday. Gotta love it!

Potty training day 1

Sebastian was not enthused with me this morning when I offered Diego or spiderman underwear. His response to both, "no, no thanks". I decided on the Spiderman. We filled the juice cup and broke out the crackers. The first accident scared him. He said that over and over. We put him on the potty, cleaned him up and put new underwear and pants on. The next accident was quite less and he told me he needed to go. He still was wet but not as bad. After that one he said "mama, please change me, Diaper please." I assured him, he didn't need a diaper and we put dry underwear and clothes on him. The third accident was a lot like the second, he told me he had to go but still was wet. He said a lot that he was scared which I thought was interesting. I'm not sure what that means but we're going to keep at. Two loads of hot water laundry and we're ready for more wet accidents tomorrow.

The transition stinks

It's just time, I decided. We made the sheets for the new bed and got the bed rail up. You might think our 3 year old Sebastian would be excited about his new bed. I've started to talk to him about the big boy bed and he is less than excited. Paul decided to talk to him about it last night.
Paul: Buddy, aren't you excited about your new sheets and the new bed rail?

Sebastian: No response.

Paul: What do you think about your new big boy bed Sebastian?

Sebastian: (Long pause) nothin.

I think we have a long road to haul with this one. I'm also going to be starting the potty training process on Friday so I'll let you know how that goes. We've been talking about the underwear for a while. I got it out the other night and he says: Oh look a hat! I was disappointed I didn't have the camera.

Count another one for my team

Atticus is feeling better but we decided to have Paul stay home with him and Sebastian for church today and them I stayed home with him while Paul took Alexandra and Sebastian to celebrate our nephews birthday. It was pretty cool just to hang out with Atticus. He is not like the other two kids at all. He plays really well by himself and really just checks in with me every once in a while. I decided to have brussel sprouts for dinner. I had fed Atticus before I ate so he had dinner. I sat and ate my brussel sprouts and Atticus started to seem interested in my food. He pointed and grunted and so I asked if he wanted one. He shook his head yes. He ate one and pointed for another. All I could think was "yes". I've got one on my side. He ended up eating about 5 or 6. You gotta love a 16 month old who loves his veggies!

Poor Atticus

I hate taking my kids to the Dr. I learned my lesson quite a few times with Alexandra that unless the kids are really sick the Dr.'s won't do anything for them. Atticus has had the same cold as the other two and me but he's not getting better. When he woke up this morning I had a feeling that I needed to take him to the Dr. As the morning progressed, I thought I wonder if he has Puemonia. Boy can a mom tell or what. We had a 1:20 PM appointment and the Dr. confirmed that he has the beginnings of puemonia in his left lung and has an ear infection in his right lung. Whew. He is just exhausted and only wants to be held. It's been a trying few days. The Dr. put him on a higher grade antibiotic to stop both infections. We should see some improvement in the next 2 days, if not we head back in. Pray that Atticus gets better. It's so hard to see them so little and know there's not much you can do for them. Just breaks a mommies heart.

Oh, how much snow.

I really wanted to get out today but I thought better. We got constant snow all day long, our sitter even got out and shoveled the driveway. Sometimes, I really wish I lived somewhere else.

Sebastian is 3!

We had great Christmas and Birthday Celebrations with my family. It obviously was too much for Sebastian as he fell asleep on the couch at 5:30PM on New years eve.

Tackle it Tuesday

I know this is a little late but I had to let you know that My Friends Jan and Erin helped me make Curious George Sheets for Sebastian's bed. We are about ready to move him to a big bed and he really wanted Curious George Sheets. Here's the pics to prove that we worked really hard to make a little boy happy.

Free Movies and Popcorn for a year???

As the snow comes down steadily outside my window, it makes me want to curl up with a blanket and a good movie. We have netflix already but to have it paid for a year would be even better. The sisters over at 5minutesformom.com are having a contest to giveaway popcorn and Netflix for a year. You can check it out here!.

A sad christmas card

Sometimes, I get a glimpse of thankfulness. It's like God says, Heather you think you have it bad but you really don't. I hate to say this is at someone else's expense. I have a friend who I worked with for a few years right after I got married. She was a great support to me as I was a newly married woman. She also got me into stamping and scrapbooking. I got a Chrismtas card from her today and her husband's name wasn't on the card. She gave an email in the card so I emailed her. I got an email back from her saying that her husband has fallen away from the Lord and then walked away from her and their two girls. She moved back to be with her family and the Lord blessed them with a great home. I cried when I read the email. I never thought they would be a couple that would get a divorce. Now, I don't know both sides of the story but it pains me what she and their girls have gone through. I've been there as a kid of divorce and it sucks. I pray that her and the kids would be healed of this and that her husband would find his way back to the Lord. It makes me thankful for my husband and his commitment to me and the kids. Thank you Lord for what you've given me and the man who is committed to me!

What a Merry Christmas it was

It all started at 8 AM, yes that's right we have three kids under 4 and they weren't up until 8 AM. I made chocolate chip pancakes (a new tradition) and most everyone enjoyed them. Then we opened presents. I have to admit that although I love getting gifts, I loved seeing our kids open theirs. It's become so much more about them than me this year and I'm thankful for that. When Alexandra opened her Ariel tent, Sebastian said, "That's Awesome". I thought that was great. We headed over to my dad's for a few more presents and then off to my step-mom's sisters for dinner. It was all so yummy as usual. Then, we put three very tired kids in the van and headed over to see my mom. I think the kids had a great time all around. Poor Atticus, he only got about an hour of sleep all day. I'm liking the new traditions we are starting with the kids. Paul is too. He mentioned that to me today. As I left my mom today I told her I was so tried and our house was a mess and that i had to go home to it. She said some day my house would be totally clean but the kids would be gone and I would only have these times as memories. She's right, these days do seem to go by fast even though they are so tiring! :) Merry Christmas!

Tackle it Saturday thanks for Brother Chas

I got a comment that my brother wanted to see old Bobbi Vila's finished kitchen. See as My reader you get what you ask for if I can. So here you go!

Vote for me and Sebastian

Holiday cheer photo contest

Nothing says holiday cheer like a toddler with chocolate all over his face. You can go and vote for my photo in the contest at Write from Karen.

My favorite time this year

As 2007 comes to a close and with lots of snow on the ground, I've thought some about this summer. How I got a swing set for the kids at a garage sale for $15 and how many times each day I would say ok a few more pushes and mommy is done. Since we've started Sebastian's therapy, it's come to my attention that he really needs the swing stimulation. I'm glad I did that every day into November so we could meet that need at home. I also think about taking a walk this summer with Alexandra and walking by a "big" school and talking to her about that. It'll be next fall when she starts kindergarten. I also think about Atticus crawling on the driveway this summer and then later this fall chasing Alexandra and Sebastian around the driveway on two feet. I will cherish those lazy summer days watching the kids in the pool and me sitting in the chair in the shade. Ah, only a few more months and we'll be a back there.

This post is a part of the Mamablogga December Writing Group Project. You can get more info on that here.

Another blow to Sebastian's development

On Wednesday we had our final evaluation with the Kalamazoo County Early on program. Although Sebastian has made great strides in the areas of speech and emotional development, he is still struggling with his gross motor skills and his fine motor skills. He's also having trouble with what they call motor mapping, pretty much where you give him a task, and he can't complete it without you showing him how to do it. Also, he's still having trouble eating and trying new foods. They are recommending he get a new evaluation with the next program for his age called the PET program. I thought we were making good progress and although we are in some areas he's still struggling with the physical stuff. We have many options as to what kind of treatment to proceed with. I'll keep updating you on his progress. My goal right now is to work really hard in the next 2 1/2 years so that when he starts school no one will ever know what kind of struggles he's had.

Another awesome contest at 5minutesformom

I would love to win the latest prize pack that 5minutesformom.com is giving away. It's from Parents magazine and it's a ton of toys. If you'd like to check out Parent's magazine here the link. Wish me luck!

Tackle it Tuesday

Ok, so I'm still in the process of tackling but I thought I'd give some kudos to myself for most of this tackle done. We decided to paint the kitchen after 7 years the week before we're having 10 of Paul's co-workers over. The first set of pics are of the kitchen before we scraped the border off and then with the border off. I'm working on the banana nut shade today and will finish this later this week.

A field trip to the Library

Today Alexandra's preschool class went to the Parchment Library. They had two stories and then a craft. The craft was so clever. It was an upside down ice cream cone. The kids covered it with frosting and then put m and m's and other candy on it for decoration. This is Alexandra's you see pictured here. A fine christmas tree and she got to eat it when we got home. Even better!

Merry Christmas from the Erbe Elves

Check out this link and see us as elves. The kids cracked up when they saw this! It's pretty cute!

The weather forcasters seem to be right this time

As I look out my window, I see a lot of white stuff coming down from the sky. In the last month the weather people have predicted that we'd get some significant snow fall. It hasn't happened. They are saying we'll probably get 2-3 inches tonight and it looks like they are probably right. I have to admit that it's pretty cool when we get snow in the evening and over night. We wake up and all the ground is covered in white. It looks all clean and new. With all the snow coming it makes be thankful that I don't have to go out in it tonight and hopefully by church tomorrow they have the roads cleaned off. Ah, whenever this happens I do need to remember that we choose to live in Michigan.