We have pulled out the ice skates twice in the last couple of days. Thankfully this is not a pond (our weather has been too warm) but a field that the city covers in water and freezes nicely into an ice skating rink. JB loves to run in his boots and slide. Jbird has not decided if he likes skating or not. One time he put his skates on and the other time he said he was not going to skate again until he was 5.

We have had a very nice, quiet couple of days! The only thing we have on the schedule all week is JB's therapy. Since it is a holiday week, they are doing special group therapies, so we just have one tomorrow. It is 2 1/2 hours so will be fun for me to get out with the older boys and do something fun.

We had a good Christmas. The older two boys got lots of legos. They spent 4 hours yesterday afternoon quietly playing. So nice. Almost makes me wish I had invested in Legos sooner. We headed to some friends house for a late lunch. The boys are excited to use their sled, if we ever get some snow. Today it is close to 40 and sunny. We sat outside eating pie and shooting baskets. The boys love their new hoop.



Here is a picture of B at the classroom Christmas party on Thursday. The entire second grade wore their pajamas. At the end of the day they had a pizza party and sang songs for the parents. B is playing a 'slide' here.



For Christmas we were given a game by my sister. I found it very odd on the back this was written..."note-knowledge of the English language is required". Guess we need to be politically correct for those non English speaking people that live in the US? Some friends borrowed our cargo carrier for their Christmas road trip. We normally always keep it on top of our van...the best place to store it! Well, I never realized just how much I rely on that to find my car in a parking lot. On more than one occasion I have walked out of a store and forgotten where I parked the van.

Not much else going on! A catch up day while JB naps and the boys are drawing.

The kids have discovered they can slide down the stairs on their coats. They put their legs into the arm holes and then sit on the bottom of the coat. Amazing how fast they can go. They even have races. One of these days I might move the front entry way table and give them sleds. I would really love to see if I could also open the front door and send them on outside. Just seems like something you would see in a movie.

My precious little boy...recently found wicks pulled out of my votive candles and my metal broom handle almost broken completely off. My little blessing just never ceases to amaze me and what he finds to 'explore'.

The other day I tried, again, to make homemade flour tortillas. I think I have finally figured it out - yea! The secret, at least for my success, was letting the dough 'rest' for quite a few hours. Seems the longer you let it sit and the less you work with it, the less elasticity it has. In the past I would roll them out or use a press and then when I put them on the griddle, they always shrunk up and were thick and hard. These tortillas, which were better the next day, were soft and rolled very easily. JR even commented on them!

The presents are all wrapped but none are out yet. Nobody seems to be complaining too much. Might put a few out each day but save most for Christmas morning. We headed to a friends' house last night for some ice skating (on the pond across the street) and Christmas caroling. Although they had just skated on the pond 2 days prior, the ice was really soft. It snowed the day before. I knew snow was an insulator but did not anticipate the warmer snow (32 degrees) melting the ice on the pond. At least that was the explanation given by an engineer! The boys did have fun playing and then doing some caroling. The boys even made their first ever snowman. Yes my oldest is 7 and has never actually built a snowman. Little guy JB kept pushing the head off. Once he was redirected inside, Jbird and his 5 year old friend Eli finished Frosty off by kicking him to pieces. Oh how much fun they had.

Joseph is slowly adding a few more sounds to his vocabulary. He has been using the word 'up' for a long time now. However, he is finally starting to use it in different contexts. He will now say 'up' when he wants the music louder and he will say 'up' in regards to balloons. Both speech therapists are trying hard to get him to say 'no'. Imagine that, a child having to be taught how to say no. He can say 'n' and 'ah' but when you ask him to put them together for 'no', he resorts to 'uh uh'. That might be his default 'no' for quite a while.

Last day of school tomorrow, early release. Will head to school for a class Christmas party.

We woke up to 3-4 inches of snow this morning. We were beginning to wonder if we would have a white Christmas this year. Sure would be nice to get a few more inches so we could try out the new sled the boys are getting for Christmas.

Jbird is out of preschool until Wed the 4th. B does not get out until 22nd. I am planning on making bread machine cinnamon rolls for all his teachers and delivering them Thursday.

A pretty quiet weekend. I got out several times and did some shopping. We had B's Cub Scout Den party. The boys exchanged gifts and sure was a hard concept for them. They thought they got to keep exchanging until they got the one they wanted. Yes, a few tears were shed but in the end, everyone was happy when we left. Sure glad we did not give the kids the option to 'steal' someone else's gift.

Since JR is a big hunter, he has several calls around the house that he uses to bring animals in. Occasionally you will hear them around the house. So the boys always try to imitate a coyote call. JB in particular. As I am excited for the imitation and sounds he is making, he is just down right loud! I have noticed several nights that he seems to get loud and call coyotes just before he actually closes his eyes and goes to sleep. It is like his last ditch effort to stay awake.

Seems like I had several things to post, but they slip my mind right now. I guess that means off to fold laundry!

Last weekend B went to a friends house for a birthday sleepover. Afterwards, I was asking him how it went, etc. He told me everything they did. He mentioned that they were watching Sponge Bob. (I have not watched a lot of sponge bob but what little I have seen, I do not like. He just seems crass and crude, something I just don't want my boys to watch at this point.) B then proceeded to tell me that he told his friend that he was not suppose to watch Sponge Bob. I asked him what his friend said and he said 'not much but he changed the channel'. I asked B what he would have done if his friend had not changed the channel and he told me he would have gone to play in the other room. When I hear things like that, it just makes my heart swell. All of the teaching and to see as they get older that they are 'catching' it. That they are making wise decisions. I of course told him how proud I was of him and we also talked about how he can stand up to what others are doing and sometimes change their behavior. If he can't change it, then he can make other choices.

Occasionally I have been putting underwear on JB. Just to see if we can start making a connection with wet underwear and going to the bathroom. I have not been putting pants on him, less for me to clean. He has also started wearing a backpack when we leave the house. So, the other day, we were getting ready to go somewhere and I hollered for everyone to get shoes, coats, etc. I headed down the stairs and found JB standing there in his underwear, tennis shoes and backpack on. He was ready to roll!

The other day Jbird asked me something. I told him 'maybe later in the weekend'. He furrowed his eyes and said 'Momma, what day is that.'

It has been a busy week. Had 2 extra kids this week. It has been fun for the boys to have others around to play with. Lot more running around for me, getting them to and from their activities too. Last night was the Christmas program for both boys. They both lasted about 25 minutes and I got to see almost all of both of them. (They were back to back in different locations.) At B's school they had the programs in the evening and it was the whole grade. (Last year the programs were during the school day and 2 classes combined). I think the music teacher quickly realized the error in her thinking. There were over 500 people in this little gym, with no air. The stage was so small half the kids were standing on the gym floor. Parents could not see...it was chaos! The kids did not know any different though! B had two lines to say and he did very well!

Another quiet weekend....not much other than a Cub Scout Den Christmas party. Hopefully some snow so we can go sledding!

JB is doing well with his PT and addition of a third speech therapy. I think the addition of the new therapist will prove very beneficial. This last time she taught him how to 'click' with his tongue - putting his tongue behind his top teeth and pulling it down. I actually think he could do this but then she associated that sound with the letter 't' and 'd'. So, now when I ask him to say 'dog', we click first and then I am more successful in getting the 'd' sound. The therapist definitely has a different approach than the one we have been with for a year.

Took B out to Pizza Hut today. He met his reading goal at school, so got a Book It certificate for a personal pan pizza. Football was on and he was non-stop talking about football and cheering for his two favorite teams. Which was funny, because he did not even know who the second team was. The cub scouts were suppose to go sledding yesterday but it got cancelled. Not enough snow. It would have turned into a huge mud fest. There is no snow forecasted for the next week and I think we are suppose to be above freezing. Winter might make a very late appearance. The great thing about December, after the 21st, the days start getting longer!!!

The boys and I played Monopoly again yesterday. It is so funny cause they hear me talk about saving money so that is what B does in Monopoly. He just does not yet get the concept of having to spend money to make money. Of course I will encourage the saving in real life. The other day Jbird was unloading the dishwasher. He was getting frustrated because JB wanted to help. JB would pick up silverware and just drop it in the drawer - he is just inches away from being able to see inside the drawer. Jbird was voicing his frustration over JB wanting to help. Saw another teachable moment about how sometimes mom has a project that despite how much I appreciate their wanting to help, sometimes it is better for them to let mom do it.

I went with a friend last night to see White Christmas, the musical. We were in the nosebleed section, but still a lot of fun. I remembered seeing White Christmas on the screen one time with my grandmother. I was probably in middle school or high school and remember thinking...boring. But walked away from it having loved it.

Heading into town later to grab some groceries and let the kids meander the toy aisles. Not to buy anything, they can just spend hours going from toy to toy. I love to watch them. Then maybe looking at some Christmas lights. The boys have their Christmas programs this week. I am also going to have a few extra kids most of the week, so should be busy.

I think it is finally happening. I am headed towards needing glasses. Just within the last couple of weeks I noticed the distinct point where words get blurrier as they get closer - about half an arms length away. So long to 20/20 vision. I guess I made it longer than most people, I am in early 40s.

Several evenings now we have been out and about and looked at some Christmas lights. JB just loves them. Anytime he sees lights in the distance, he is hollering and pointing. He gets very vocal when they flash. He always gets upset when I turn the lights off on the Christmas tree. Still no presents below the tree. I am holding out as long as I can. The other night I could tell B was not himself. All the boys went to bed and after a while, I found him sitting up in his bed while the others were asleep. He had turned the light on, found a clipboard and was writing a letter. I sat beside him for a while and then asked him to read me the letter. (Of course the words were spelled phonetically). It was a letter to Santa. It said "I thought this was the time of year that you were suppose to be spending time with friends that you care about but it seems like all my friends have moved away or are going to their cousins or their grandmas and grandpas. If there's anyway you can help please do. And for my little brother, he does not have a blanket like me if you can get that for him please do. And make sure it is 15x25 inches." He was so down. I am not sure what brought the letter on, since none of his close friends have moved away, but sure loved his heart.

Jbird has been full of fun questions/statements lately..."Was God born or was he created?" "What is Jesus' middle name?" I made tuna casserole recently and he actually tried it. He told me several times he really liked. I told him I was glad he liked and then he got serious, looked at me and said "I did not say I wanted every night or anything...I mean it is good but not that good".

I hear my little guy playing in his room when he should be sleeping before speech. Off to lay down with him.

Just a few sentences....

JB has figured out how to put his thumb inside the thumb slot of mittens and gloves. You would not think this is a big deal, but oh, the meltdowns that are prevented now.

Yesterday in the car, not sure what started it, but Jbird said something to JB and JB said 'uh uh' (or the equivalent to no) and then Jbird said 'yea' and so it continued back and forth for about 20 seconds. JB's first argument and I was so excited.

It has been hard to get out of bed lately when the outside temperature is .5! B has always been a hard one to get settled down and asleep. He will lay in bed for a long time but not be able to relax enough to sleep. Lately he has discovered the heating pad. He curls up on that thing and falls fast asleep. I have just ordered him (and one for Jbird) an electric blanket in hopes of warming up the bed and helping them to fall asleep. Maybe this will encourage them to stay in bed longer on the weekends too.

B is making great strides in his reading. So fun to listen to him reading his devotional at night. It is one of those times as a parent that you hate to tell them to turn off the light.

Cub Scout winter activity planned for this weekend. Sledding. Just hope it gets into the double digits with no wind!

JB had a major meltdown the other day. We had just pulled into the parking lot at the AWANA church. The wind was howling, the sun was setting and the wind chill felt about zero. We got about 15 feet from the door and he decided he was done walking. He laid down in the middle of the parking lot, screaming and crying. I am standing there freezing, trying to deal with him. I glanced up to see the pastor of the church standing at the door. The pastor is also a part time police officer, so my first thought was he is going to come out and rail me for not getting my child in where it was warm. I still am not sure what got him to come inside, but after about 2 minutes, he gave in. We got just inside the door and he is still screaming. I kneel down and try to settle him down, he wants nothing of it. He is pointing at the car and keeps saying 'dad'. So, I ask him if he wants to call dad on the phone and he nods yes. He stopped crying and grabbed the phone. As soon as he heard JR's voice, all he could do was cry and say 'daddy'. It was funny and sad at the same time. A few more minutes and he totally settled down and we proceeded further inside the church. As we walked inside, the pastor looked at me and made the comment about how we had all been there. Whew.

Today I went to B's school to help out. I had made some fun Christmas cookies earlier in the week and took them along for all the kids. As I was in the hallway taking off my coat, one of the boys in B's class started talking to me. He said how he wished his mom would come into the classroom and help out. I asked if she worked and he started no and started telling me about his home life. My heart broke for this boy that seems to have potential but given his home environment and lack of parental involvement, he faces an uphill battle.

I took JB back to the opthomologist for his second visit. We were there almost 2 hours. She said the health of the eye looks good and from how he cooperated, she does not see any vision issues - still hard to tell at this point though. He was somewhat fidgety, as to be expected but she tried something different. She pulled out some yoke prisms that looked like regular lenses. She held them up to his eyes and he pulled away. She flipped them over and turned them around to another configuration. He pulled away. She changed them again and he instantly got still and relaxed and looked. Obviously something that he saw through those lenses created a positive response. We moved on to something else and then she pulled the prism lenses out again. She did different configurations and again, we got negative responses from all by one combination, which was the same combo used first time for positive response. This was repeated several more times and every time the same thing. He was sitting on my lap and when that certain combo lenses was put in front of his eyes, it was always a positive thing. I keep feel his relax. She thinks he could have some spatial issues. His vision is fine but the way he processes his space is distorted. She told me she had an autistic patient who was very spastic. They tried yoked prism glasses with him. The first day he wore them to school, the staff were trying to figure out what had happened. He was calm and much easier to deal with. It is still somewhat new and some doctors don't use them, but she suggested them for us. She said she has had a few patients that struggled with speech that did better once they saw their world through prisms. I don't understand it and the doctor said she honestly can't fully explain it. She has been to several seminars regarding space and spatial issues. It is very abstract. Since JB can't tell us what he sees through certain prisms, we have no idea what is happening visually with him. Not that the glasses would help him talk but there is a small possibility that this could be the one link that brings it all together for him and gives him the stability to make it happen. They certainly would not hurt him. We have a prescription for them, but I don't want to fill it just yet. Want to read some more stuff online and maybe drop back in the doctor's office to see if we could try different lens combinations again to see if we continue to get a positive response. As I research more online, it is so amazing how God put the body together, especially the eye. You would not think vision would affect other areas of one's body, but it does. One statistic I saw was research estimates that eighty to eighty five percent of our perception, learning, cognition and activities are mediated through vision. Will be interesting to read more and maybe talk to some other professional to see if they have any experience with this and particularly if they have had non-verbal kids that were benefited.
JB also started his third speech therapy a week this week. He did physical therapy and then speech. They both commented on how well he did and the sounds he was making! Yea!!
Off to enjoy a relatively quiet weekend and do some more research.