Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!!

Last year I wrote down my goals for the year:
Updating my blog more reguarly. : )
Joining the gym at Frankie's school and going at least 4 times a week!
Walking outside on good weather days.
Eating healthy!!
Figuring out a part time job for next fall
Finding happiness in each day, even when it is hard!

I will continue to blog more, exercise and eat healthy. I have a part time substitute teaching job, and I am still exploring possibilities for a more permanent position.

I have been better at finding happiness in each day, lately! I truly enjoy spending as much time as I can with my family. I have really loved spending time with my kids off from school and doing fun activities and just hanging out at home playing games and baking!

So my goals for 2012:
Exercise, eat healthy and reach a healthy weight!
Continue to find a part time job.
Think of myself less, and others more!
Help other people who are less fortunate.
Be patient, kind and forgiving!

Off to Kindergarten!

Wow, that was hard for me to send Frankie off to Kindergarten, on the bus! I didn't cry, as I thought I would, but the tears are forming as I write this! The last child going to "big kid", full day school is tough, and I will miss him and Lizzy.

The past few years have been rough for our family, but I have learned that time is precious and to enjoy each moment with my children!

So a few back-to-school bits of advice. : )

Spend some time really enjoying your children each day; playing games, reading, walking, biking, to name a few.

Really listen to them and what they have to say about their day.

Enjoy the moment, try not to worry about the dishes, bills, laundry; at least for a little while.

Try to schedule in "fun time", that isn't rushing to a sport, activity and where you can just "hang out" with your kids.

Remember that the time does go by so fast and they will only be this particular age for a short time, enjoy it!!

Park-a-Palooza

I read this idea of a "park-a-palooza" in a magazine last summer and loved it! It entails mapping out playgrounds, in the same general area, and then "playground hopping" all day!!

Last year we mapped out playgrounds in Brookline, and played at 7 or 8 of them. We went with the kids' cousins, and fun was had by all. It was a cooler day, so we did not do any of the sprinkler parks, but played on the structures, rolled down a big hill and walked through a rose garden. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed playgrounds in the beautiful weather of Labor Day weekend!

This year, we choose Labor Day weekend again for park-a-palooza and went to Cambridge! It was a much warmer day, so the kids wore their bathing suits and had fun at many of the sprinkler parks! We again visited about 7 parks, had a picnic and enjoyed many unusual pieces of equipment. One of the playgrounds had a huge climbing structure with a tunnel slide coming down. Another had a seesaw that was quite tall and had weights to balance the 2 people. : )

My sister-in-law has started a website with ratings on playgrounds, pictures, etc! www.playgroundpalooza.com

2 Slow Days, Kind of Nice!

Lizzy has been sick with a stomach bug since Monday night, she was sick mostly that night and has been recovering yesterday and today. I hate to see my kids sick, and luckily she is quite healthy! So I felt bad that she was sick, but the slowing down for 2 days was quite nice! Today she was feeling better, (not quite well enough for school), so we have been decorating turkeys, playing games and watching a movie; instead of trying to be 7 different places throughout the day for both kids! I do enjoy the slower pace!

Sometimes I am torn between having the kids do all the activities they want, and just having time to relax, play, etc. We have tried to find that balance, but some days seem especially, busy, like short Wednesdays! So a day or so of staying in does feel nice. : ) I like time to just enjoy my kids and spend time with them. Next Thursday they have off fro Veterans' Day and I am looking forward to going out for the day with them, lunch, playground and a little shopping. : )

Frankie's IEP

Alright, i am going to be good about posting!

Frankie has his big IEP meeting every March, and we have had 2 follow ups since; the last one was last week! His classroom teacher and specialists had glowing things to say about him! He is doing so much better attending and listening in circle time, playing and interacting with his friends, starting to write his name and recognizing letters! I was so pleased, we have been working on letters a lot. I have tactile letters where he cantrace the letter with his finger and it feels like sand paper, he loves them!

So he continues to get once a week O&M and once every other week vision services. He is working on cane training, which may help him as he gets older.

The director at his preschool has started the transition to kindergarten process and has had meeting with the principal at the elementray school, I just cannot believe that he will be in K next year! He still seems like my baby, even though he will always tell you he is a big boy!

Thinking back to him when he was 4 months old and first diagnosed, it is hard to believe how far he has come! I love the fact that he is playing with his friends so much more and initiating play!! At 4 months, ireally didn't know that we would ever really see. He is such a blessing! Funny too. : )

"I can't see the Patriots"

We went to a high school basketball game this afternoon, that my brother-in-law coaches. Lizzy had a great time and loved watching and cheering, especially since she has started playing basketball this year.
Frankie, on the other hand was more interested in eating. About half way through, he said "I don't really like it because I can't see the Patriots". He watches the Patriots on TV with Daddy, and thinks every sport is them. It was a little funny, in this respect, yet I felt so sad that he truly could not see the players or game. Makes you realize his visual limitations. Just feeling a little sad tonight. But I'm sure he'll have me smiling again in the morning!

Potty

Frankie told me he had to go potty for the first time the other day!!! We had dropped Lizzy off at her violin lesson, and were walking down the hall of the school. He said he needed to go and we went in and he did. That was the first time he had told me and went. So we had banana bread that night for a special treat. : ) He hasn't told me again, but he is consistently getting better.

Frankie's 2 year Evaluation

Frankie Started Early Intervention 2 years ago this month. His EI teacher did his yearly assessment this week. He did really well! He had trouble with some fine motor tasks that required a lot of vision, but overall he did well. Next week, we will discuss the results, then it will be time to start thinking about his transition to preschool next year! I can't believe it.
And he went in the potty yesterday!!!

"Hammah Ontana"

This is just too cute! Lizzy, being 7, loves Hannah Montana. So she talks about her, sings her songs and has a poster. Frankie, of course, picks up on this and now says, "hammah ontana" when he sees her. : ) It makes me laugh.

Feeling Poorly

Does anyone have tips on strategies to still spend time with your kids and get things done, when you are not feeling well? I have been so exhausted, achy and having a headache, some days I don't think I will be able to do make it till bed! I know it will pass, but sometimes things seem longer when you are in them.

Starting to Board the Potty Train

Frankie started using Cars pull ups today, and was quite excited. He was sitting on the potty every hour or so this afternoon, no success on the potty yet. He is very eager to sit on it, and we got him a new book about the "potty train". He really likes that, and Lizzy made him a potty chart, so we can put stickers on it when he goes in the potty. I don't really know if he's ready, but we'll try it and see how it goes. I would like to switch to underwear soon, when he has some potty success!

Homework for First Graders

Lizzy has started her homework this week for first grade. Today she had a math game, which we played together this afternoon. She also has a reading log, where she needs to read or be read to for 15 minutes each day. While she is participating and doing the homework, I feel the reminding her to do it and keeping track of it falls to me. Which is just funny, how much of the younger grades' homework contains a lot of parent participation. I think it is beneficial for the students, but the parents are an integral part. It does help us to be diligent to read each day. We have always read a lot, yet this makes sure we read each for 15 minutes or more. Frankie gets involved because he loves to listen to Lizzy read each day!

Kid Friendly Recipes

I wanted to share a few recipes that are healthy, quick, easy, incorporate veggies and my kids like to eat!

Cheesy Loaf -
1 pound of ground turkey or chicken
2-3 carrots grated
1 tomato grated
1/2 zucchini grated
Combine all ingredients in a bowl with bread crumbs, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and basil. Press into a baking dish and bake on 375 for 1 hour. For the last few minutes, melt pieces of cheese on top.

Spinach Quiche -
1 egg
1 small container part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 packages frozen spinach (cooked and drained)
2 pie crusts
Combine and mix; milk, egg and cheese. Add in spinach, onion powder and pepper. Pour into 2 pie crusts. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

Squash Soup -
2 packages frozen squash
1 package cauliflower (or broccoli)
1 can chicken broth
1 can water
1 cup milk
Combine in pot on stove with pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon and cloves. Cook to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 1/2 hour. Can substitute with other veggies too.

Counting to Three

I was impressed today, Frankie counted the 3 stickers he had put on his baby. He pointed to each one and said the number, using one to one correspondence. I was surprised that he could point to each one and count it, it made me happy!
He is always surprising me! As is Lizzy, she takes her own shower now, puts herself to bed and mostly gets herself all ready in the morning. It seems as if she grew up overnight!
Today's happy list:
Lizzy reading to Frankie
Lizzy setting up her cradle, with blanket and pillow, in Frankie's room for his baby. : )
Playing outside
Eating with the kids at Vello's
Booking some Discovery Toys parties.

The Best of Days, The Worst of Days

Today was Lizzy's first day of first grade and she loved it! She came home a bit tired and hot, so we went out to dinner to the Red Robin, and she lost her tooth. She was so excited and the waitress gave her a Red Robin pin! The restaurant has good food (burgers) and is very kid friendly, complete with a balloon as you leave.
When we got home, Lizzy asked me if the tooth fairy was real or if I took the teeth. I asked her what she thought and she said that I was the tooth fairy. I said yes and she is so upset!! I feel so bad!! Since she asked outright, I wanted to tell her the truth, but it would have been more fun to keep pretending and she would have been happy. I hope I did the right thing!
I don't know what's going to happen with Santa this year!

Back to School

Lizzy and Frankie have been playing together so nicely lately. He is actually at an age where he can play with her more and they entertain each other! It is nice!
Tomorrow is Lizzy's first day of first grade! He is going to miss her a lot. It is always an adjustmet for me too, when she goes back to school. I miss having her to talk to! But first grade should be an exciting year! I keep telling her that I learned to read in first grade, and she says, "I already know how to read!" I know she will do well.

Sunblock for George

Since Frankie needs sunblock mostly everyday, he is pretty used to getting it put on. But since he is 2, and exerting more independence each day, : ) he has days where he is very squirmy, moving, thrashing around! So today as I was putting it on, he happened to be holding his Curious George.
I pretended to put a little bit of sunblock in his hand and told him to rub it onto George so he was safe from the sun too. He loved doing it and asked for more and was occupied the whole time. We use this for other things like eating too, where he will feed George finger foods and then feed himself. But I was glad it worked well for sunblock, as well!

Growing Up

Lizzy left with my parents today to spend the week at their house. She has done this for the past 2 summers. She was so excited! I was a little concerned that Frankie would be quite upset to see her go. He was OK till they were pulling out of the driveway, then he said he wanted to go in the car. He has been asking for her and Ghee and Pa all day. I made him a photo album of all of them to look at in the morning.
So he is doing pretty well, but I miss her already. I know she will have a great time, have fun and get to do lots of cool stuff! But it is funny to tuck Frankie in at night and not her. I guess it's part of her growing up!!

Zoo Day

Today we went to Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, MA. The zoo is quite large and has many great animals; lions, tigers, elephants, lots of monkeys, camels. There is a deer forest where you can walk with the deer and feed them. There are elephant and camel rides, an elephant show, kiddie rides and a playground. It is a very shady zoo too! They are opening a sky ride in August. It is open and spacious, an all around great zoo!
Frankie had a lot of trouble on the playground equipment. He climbed up the stairs and then wanted to walk across the top to a slide, and he did it so slowly and cautiously. I have never seen him take so long to walk across something. He was holding on and looking down and moving his foot an inch at a time, testing to see if there was going to be a stair. A few times, he got down on all fours and felt around to see what things were like. There were small little holes in this structure, so maybe seeing down below was throwing him off. It threw me for a loop, watching him. He looked like he could really not see much at all. It was hard for me to watch. I was on the side reassuring him that there were no stairs there and he was doing fine. But it made me feel a little sad.
As much as we like zoo, and this one was great, Frankie does not really see 90% of the animals. He has fun, because he always does, but doesn't get excited about the animals. So it was a good day, but a few challenges along the way.

Tired

Do you ever get so tired, you feel like you can sleep all day and night and still not have caught up? This week has been that way for me, today in particular! My whole body feels exhausted and sore and I feel like I could fall asleep all day long. I know it is my fibromyalgia flaring up, but wow, it makes it that much harder to be a mom. I do well most of the day, and then bathtime hits, and pow, I am ready for the day to be over. It seems monumental to give the kids a bath and read stories before bed! But I am plugging along and since it is 9:00, I think I should go to bed. : )
Things that were great today:
2 storytimes
getting new books
Frankie going to hug Lizzy goodnight
Thinking about Lizzy jumping in the deep end of the pool and swimming all the way across!