Pumpkins....not so scary

We opted for painted pumpkins for the little kids this year since I end up carving anyways.  We still had some fingerpaints, so I figured that's about as good as it gets and they could make as much of a mess as they wanted to since they're washable.  Jaemin didn't really care for the end result of a mess on his hands and wanted them washed as soon as he was done.  Chase didn't do the elaborate bass picture on his pumpkin that he did last year, but he still decided to carve one.  I didn't help at all this time.

Close your eyes and sleep

Jaemin was doing his typical flapping and fidgeting in bed at naptime.  I stopped and told him to close his eyes like I always do.  He put his hands over his eyes like he always does.  But, this time he fell asleep that way.  So cute. 

How do you deal with 5 kids and a fulltime job?

I get comments about working fulltime and having 5 kids all the time.  Trust me I don't love to work, it's a necessity if we want to pay our bills and keep our modest home to live in.  I'm also not a perfect mother, but I do try to do my best. 

One thing we do try to do is make a menu.  It helps tremendously if you have a menu to shop by so nothing goes to waste.  So, we try to make a list of about 5 things for the next several days that consist of a couple of fairly simple to make meals (aka quick) and some more extensive ones.  This keeps us out of the boring rut we sometimes get into leaving no one wanting to eat because dinner is BORING.  Plus, before work we can have something thawing so it's that much easier to start dinner when you walk in the door after work.  Of course, during the week this is Brian's job since he is home the earliest.  I take the menu on the weekends.  This past week we had sausage/broccoli pasta, enchilada casserole, teriyaki chicken, parmesan chicken and a couple of other yummy meals.  We like to load them with miscellaneous veggies and the kids eat them right up.....in the recipe or not.

Another thing I do is my job at work.  While there is something to be said about the stress lack of money can cause, there is also stress in stressful jobs that no matter how much you try not to bring it home you do....just because you may hate your job.  I don't love my job as in I'd rather not work...duh, but I don't hate my job.  I'm appreciated and though because of who my employer is I can't be compensated with monetary rewards my supervisor openly appreciates me, trusts me and gives me job satisfaction with all of this.  There was another job that was possibly going to be coming up soon (hasn't yet) that the person over it has been talking with me about me looking into it.  I really had seriously considered it because it was working with something I currently do and one of my favorite pieces of my job.  I thought that would be perfect; a huge raise and doing more of what I enjoy if I have to be there anyways.  I recently was put on a project with some folks in that area and realized that it's not what I thought.  Because of the way they run things it wouldn't be working with what I thought and I think there would definitely be personality conflicts.  After a remark that was made this week by a potential coworker I realized it's not worth that.  It's not worth hating who I work with, possibly getting belittled on a daily basis when I do know what I'm doing and allowing someone else to possibly take credit for my work.  I may not have money left after paying our bills, but at least I don't have extra headache and stress.  Money's overrated when it brings on extra stress.

So, yeah, moms CAN work and be present for their kids, but if you don't make the best use of your time, organize and prioritize (just like at work) and keep a job that minimizes stress, not maximizes it, you may not enjoy your life too much.  Life has it's ups and downs, but I do enjoy it because I enjoy my kids and I don't know that I would if I had all this stress I was bringing home and flying around by the seat of my pants.

It's all good....even when it's not.  Keep telling yourself on bad kids days...."as long as we have each other and our health".  I remind myself of this a lot.

Anthony Robles on Ellen

I saw that he was a wrestle and had Cole run upstairs to watch.  Anthony seems like such a well-rounded, mature young man with great advice!  He said everything I've said to Cole a million times every time he's been bullied or dismayed because of his heart condition.  When Anthony said he didn't begin wrestling until his freshman year it was perfect for Cole to hear this kid started late too and really exceeded his dreams because he motivated himself, didn't feel sorry for himself and pushed himself daily without letting 'challenges become excuses'.  Perfect advice!  I hope this young mans gets so much in life.

http://anthonyrobles.com/

Next therapy

We asked the school to take a look at Jaemin again this year, since it's been a whole year and his delays can get bigger as he ages and that's when he's finally qualify for therapy.  We didn't ask for a formal evaluation, but just to check in on him.  The OT came in while he was in speech and agreed he's very weak in his upper and core and that's affecting his ability to grasp a writing utensil hard enough to really control the writing.  She asked that we have him do more tummy time to color, more exercise, more of the same we were already doing. 

We've also been in contact with Holt International USA because they currently have a 1 1/2 year old boy waiting for a family that sounds exactly like Jaemin and they're unable to diagnose as well.  They said they would let us know if Korea or his new family (when he's matched) finds a diagnosis so we can at least have something to look into.

For now, we're back to more brushing therapy, more pushups, bear crawls, etc.  He HATES it!  I did buy him the color wonder markers so he could lay on the rug in the living room and color and he thinks those are pretty cool.  But last night he was in one of his moments where he couldn't stay still and they ended up being thrown around the room. I brushed him hoping that would help, but not a lot.  So, I asked one of the coaches for kids club wrestling if Jaemin could participate in practice even though he's a year shy of old enough.  I'm thinking that he could find a it fun to exercise with other kids around.  Hopefully, this in combination with getting him a ball to sit on will help.  I agreed that if he got in the way of practice we would discontinue, but it's still feels worth it to try.  He's so energetic so hopefully this will be a good fit.  I never had intentions of getting him into sports SO young, but if it's for his greater good and a form of therapy seems like it's worth trying.

Last Game

We're done with the last game of the regular 2012 season.  However, we now are in the playoffs and since we're not ranked too high we have an away game at night, during the week.  That's going to kinda stink, but I want to go watch what could be their last game.  I really love games like today.  When they're pretty much blowouts you get to see kids play that don't typically get to play as much or in Chase's case he gets to play offense a bit instead of defense.  He didn't make any touchdowns, but he got some yardage for them and broke an almost tackle on his way.  He says he almost had an interception on defense, but when he jumped up his shoe came off.  The referee was pretty much laughing at him.

Time's flying

I'm not exactly saying when you're having fun, but nevertheless it's going by very quickly.

Kaelin got the Responsibility Character award this month.  Very proud that my girls are such good citizens in school.  Responsibility surprised the two of us since she's a tad flighty, but hey, maybe she's different in school.  YAY!

Chase and Cole had their orthodontic visit and Chase decided to do away with the green bands and he went with pink and black.  I talked him into pink for Breast Cancer Awareness and then he decided black too.  Looks good and the boy isn't afraid to sport pink!

Everything else is just coming along.  We're still waiting on Cole to get all Bs so we can give him his cell back, give him his letter jacket and he can have a little more freedom.  One test and the progress set him back.  He was on the tippy top of that C when his College Prep Chemistry test got the better of him.  I guess he better learn some better study habits.  He's not very good at that yet since he's never really studied before.  Tough lesson to learn as a sophomore for sure.

Jaemin's speech is really coming along.  He still really struggles with certain letters and sounds, but his sentences are slowly getting longer, more complete and more understandable.  Glad his therapy is helping.  Now, we get to start doing more OT exercises at home.  The school's OT checked on his light pencil grip and is planning to give us a list of exercises we can try doing with him to strengthen his upper body (arms and core).  She's suggesting an exercise ball he can sit on and watch tv, like adults use.  So that's our next purchase.  He's getting more patient and willing, so I think his therapy is helping him along.  I can see progress....slowly, but surely.

2012 Reminder

I'm not totally disappointed that my mother-in-law really wants an 8x10 photo of the kids every single year.  It gives me an excuse to force the big ones to just get dressed and let me take their pictures.  The girls will allow me to do that anytime...but the boys, not so much.  They'll do stuff for grandmas, that they won't do for me.  I'm now all finished with 2012 reminders of my babies.

No internet break

forced internet breaks are great to an extent.  We went down on Thursday and came back up some time Monday.  It was nice to find other things to do, but I had Kohls cash to print before it expired, Chase had homework he needed the internet for and I couldn't print any coupons.  But, we all survived.

So, what's changed.  Really nothing.  No exciting time in our lives.  It's been a miserable week at work.  Everything that goes wrong with our providers is being blamed on me, by the provider, of course.  My boss 100% backs me up because she knows it's not anything I can do anything about....just circumstances....but I understand their passion.  Hopefully, tomorrow's better.

Got snarked at by our school's superintendent for having any concern of kids waiting on the front steps of school because the doors are literally locked until 7:30 while teachers and staff (and the principal herself) parade their kids through those same doors into the warm and safety of the school right in front of those kids.  I respectfully asked if they insist on their kids going in if they could just use the side entrance, but that's when I got the snarky remark about it being all about me.  I just know my baby and her friends don't understand at their ages the fairness of this.  To be honest, I struggle with it.

Chase had a good football day Saturday.  He made his tackles as cornerback and then went in as the back up runningback on offense.  He never got a TD, but he got some yardage for them and a sore hip.  I hope the other two runningbacks are better for this Saturday.  I wouldn't really want him playing both sides all the time at this very young age.

We're working on a grade issue with Cole.....or should I say Cole's in charge of straightening it out.  Hopefully he's able to so I don't have to, but we'll see.  It's a big misunderstanding that cost him a grade because of another student's bad attitude and lack of any work ethic.  I did finally find Cole some jeans that fit.  They finally were delivered last week.  29x34's.  He could have used 28s, but unless I wanted to pay $60 (at least) I couldn't find any.  If the boy grows anymore, we're in big (I mean tall) trouble.

On to the rest of September.  There may not be much, but I hope it's better.

Happy Birthday to #4 & #5

Yep, my last two babies have birthdays on top of each other.  However, since they are 1 days apart I want to try as hard as possible not to combine them to make sure they each get their own day.  It's not like we have big birthday bashes every year anyways.  So, Jaemin got cupcakes and Chelsi got cupcakes and before we ate supper we had them blow out their candles so dad and Chase could be there for it.  My sweet little babies are now 4 and 7.

Make a Wish Update

So, after 7 months of not hearing from Cole's wish granters, I thought I'd just email the local office to get an idea of how things work.  He was asking questions, I just couldn't answer.  They emailed me back and said while the wish granters are supposed to periodically update you on what's going on, they may not have been because we had put down our dates for next year and we're too far out yet.  I now understand why they say they grant most wishes in 6 months.  It's because the physician has to be contacted to make sure the wish is safe for the child, in whatever condition they are currently in, and then the wish can go to the board and be granted.  The approval from the physician is not good for more than 6 months.

She let me know that they plan to contact our cardiologist around November or December so that he can go in May, our first choice.  At this point, we don't suspect Dr. R to say no, but as most parents to heart kids, you also know that you never know anything.  I asked about finding out if Korea is even doable and if they don't anticipate it is if he can go ahead and have his 2nd wish instead, to go to Cabelas this year before wrestling season.  She basically told me that if Cabelas is his one true wish they can change things and arrange for that, but she said generally, unless a doctor says no to a wish for health or safety reasons they will most often get their one true wish.  Of course, this is barred if someone wishes to meet a celebrity or something like that where the celebrity has ultimate control.

So, we're just letting things ride out to see if by the end of December he's either granted Korea or for some reason he gets Cabelas instead and we'll reevaluate what we'll do then.  We're going to try to do both, if at all possible, since Cabelas is not far from here, even though we've never been.  I don't know we can actually afford to go to Korea, but if we can we'll do that as well.  If he gets Korea, we'll let him find something at Cabelas we would never normally do.  Anyone that knows us knows we do NOT over spend or lavish our kids with gifts by any stretch of the means.  We really do just want Cole to feel ever so special one time in his life.  He knows he could have had a worse life or worse case scenario for his healthy, but it doesn't take away his hurt of not doing things other kids can do at this age.  I hope one day he really does understand this and accept it, but for now he's a teenager, that can't see past it. We're doing our best.

My sweet, smart little girl

Chelsi's 1st grade teacher emailed me to let me know she got the Respect character award for this time.  She said "Chelsi shows respect by listening attentively, being considerate of her classmates feelings, using good manners, encouraging others to do well, and by playing fair."  So proud of her!

On top of that, the teacher over the gifted program called to to let me know that she spoke with the school psychologist and principal and because she scored 99% on the reading test and a 94% on the math test screen and then went on to score a 120 on the Wechsler IQ test.  She is now accepted into the school's gift program at age 6 and 1st grade.  WOW!  So much for delays from being born 10 weeks early, etc., etc.  

I can't wait to write our letter next year for her Korean mother, to leave in the file, so she knows how smart her daughter is.  No one can take credit for this, on Earth, except Chelsi and at least one of her Korean birthparents.  My good little girl.

TOUCHDOWN!!

What happens when coaches finally give a quiet boy a chance to show them what he's made of?  That quiet little cornerback intercepts and runs 70 yards for a touchdown!  This is the 1st touchdown of the season!  I was so glad I had my camera in my hand just in case and had no idea what was going on when I looked in the viewfinder to see the ball in my son's hands.  Everyone loves watching him run.  They all tell us he runs like a deer or gazelle.  He has long legs and a really long stride, so he looks slow, but he covers a LOT of ground.  There was no one near to catch him, so he made it clear of everyone the whole way.  His sweet name was announced many times for all of his tackles too.  I hope he has a great school career in football since he really does enjoy it so much, even when they weren't playing him for the first 5 weeks.  He earned his spot!

Interception from before the 30 yard line.

He's in and they're celebrating their first touchdown this year.  

 This boy is always on the bottom.