The development game

I don't know if you play this game or not. I didn't really realize that I do until recently.

How to play is...

1. Look at a child you care about.
2. Notice all the amazing things they are doing.
3. Pick one or more of the following steps and do them:
   
1. Praise yourself, or their parents, for having such a great kid.
2. Brag to others about all the child is achieving.
3. Try to make sure they have opportunities to show off their new skill.
4. Notice all the areas that other children in similar age and development areas surpass your child.
5. Pick one or more of the following steps and do them:
   
1. Feel like you are a failure because your child can't do that.
2. Feel like your child has problems because they can't do that.
3. Work really hard to remedy the situation by trying to force your child to do something they really aren't ready for.

Isn't it crazy. When I stopped to think about it, I realized what a ridiculous way of parenting it is. Why can't I just sit back and allow my children to be who they are and go at their own pace.
So in my opinion after thinking about it, here is the game I am going to try to play instead.

1. Look at a child you care about.
2. Notice what amazing things they are doing.
3. Praise them for what they can do right.
4. Give them opportunities to try new things.
5. Let them pick, and choose what they want to do, within certain limits.
6. Sit back and let them be who they want to be.

So now I'm curious. How do you parent your children, or look at other children you care about and help them develop new skills? What kind of opportunities do you try to make available?

Days like this.....

So yesterday we had a temperature high of 51 degrees. And OK so when we lived in VA we had warmer days in February than that, but besides that February is usually cold and snowy. So having a day like yesterday, made me glad that we live in Washington right now.
And yes w took advantage of it. After naps we headed out to the playground at our complex.
Days like this make me realize that I don't let the kids get outside enough. It is hard, not having a back yard, but I really need to make an effort for them.

One Long Night

Last night we got the kids to bed by 8, and our selves to bed by 9:30. My husband needed to be to work this morning by 7:30 so we tried to make sure that we would get enough sleep. Man, am I glad that we got to bed when we did.

At about 12:00 I was awakened by Cinderella screaming hysterically. My husband went to see what was wrong, and when she didn't seem to be settling down I went and joined them. Because she and Guy share a room, I picked her up and moved her to the living room, hoping she wouldn't wake him up.

I tried giving her a drink, but that didn't work. We tried her plug. She doesn't take it to bed any more, just naps, but it is still a comfort object. That didn't work either. I asked her if she needed a pull-up change. Still no change in her behavior. I finally told her that if she didn't calm down and talk to me, I wouldn't know how to help her. Finally she calmed down enough to let us know that her tummy hurt. We took her temp, and saw that she didn't have a fever. She said she didn't need to throw up. Her only symptom that we could diagnose was the tummy ache.

My husband gave her a priesthood blessing, and we called a 24 hour nurse on the phone hot line. The nurse told us that we needed to take her to get her looked at. By this time she had calmed down and we agreed that if she had another episode during the night we would take her to the ER, otherwise we would wait until morning when we could take her to the Dr. office. The nurse seemed to accept this plan, and we set about getting her settled back down.

Because my hubby needed to get up early I told him to go back to bed, and I bedded down on the couch with Cin. After about 45 min, she told me she was ready to go back to her own bed. By this time Guy was also awake and bouncing around his crib. I got Cin, settled back down, and my hubby came and moved Guy to the other room so that he could maybe go back to sleep.

Then at about 3:00 I awoke again to Cin screaming. When we went in there she said between sobs "Mama, I can't sleep." We decided we better take her to the ER. A brain doesn't function the best at 3:00 AM, and I couldn't think of any one to call to take Guy, so we bundled him up and took him with us.

We got to the hospital at about 4:00, and then went through a crazy ordeal. It is so hard to be a parent and watch your child suffer. Especially when you have to hold them down so that nurses and doctors can do thing they really don't like.

By about 9:00, after a CT Scan, a catheter, an IV, and a drink that she really didn't want to drink, we were finally told we could go home. As far as they could tell nothing really serious was going on. We should go to her Dr. for a follow up in 24 hrs. And other than that it was probably something viral. Needless to say my hubby didn't make it to work by 7:30.

Anyway it was a crazy morning. I just hope it is a LONG time before I have to take another child to the hospital. It wasn't a fun experience.

4 years

My husband and I just recently celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. For me it was a time of reflection. There has been a lot happen to our little family in that time.

This is an engagement photo. I don't have easy access to any of my wedding photos so this one will have to do.

5 moves
4 apartments

1st apartment 5 months (hubby was there 1 month before we were married)

2nd apartment 18 months.
Then we spent 1 month at my parents house.

3rd apartment 1 year
then another month at my parents house

4th apartment been here 11 months and plan to be here at least 1 more year.
Did you notice that my husband was cooking in the kitchen in all but the 2nd apartment? The ironic thing is I think he did more cooking in our 2nd apartment than any of the others because that was during my first pregnancy and Cin's first year. I just didn't feel like cooking, so he was my knight in shining armor and came to the rescue.

4 States

We enjoyed the outdoor recreation in Idaho

Had fun camping in Utah

Loved the trees in Virginia

And now enjoy the Puget Sound in Washington

3 cars
Our first car was an econo box but it suited our purpose. Ours was white, but I don't have any pictures of it so I found this one on the web.
When we knew our family was going to grow, and the Swift was dying we upgraded to the Honda CRV. We loved that car, and it saved our lives. But alas it had an end too.

However by that time we were in love with the name Honda so this is what we got. It seems to serve our current needs well, but we joke about if and when our family grows we might find ourselves with a Honda Odyssey.

2 babies
Cinderella arrived with complications, but with lots of love.

Guy came without a hitch, and was rearing to go.

2 pregnancies
The first one was slow. We were in school, and anxious to be parents. She couldn't come soon enough. This picture was taken the day before Cinderella was born.

The second one passed quickly as we were busy being parents, preparing to move, being out of a job, moving across the country, finding a job, getting in a wreck, etc.
This picture isn't the most ideal pregnancy picture, but it was the best that was taken.

2 drives across the country (for my hubby 1 for Cinderella and me)
The first time, my hubby drove by himself from Utah to Virginia. Notice the weather? This was his drive through Wyoming. Due to the fact he was alone in the car, this is about the only picture he got.

This is Cin sitting in the back seat of our CRV. Can you see how tight it is packed in there? I don't know if you can tell but it is snowy out this time too. This go round we took it as a family. It was a nice trip, even if it was rushed.

1 wreck, and totaled car.
We were almost to our destination. Crossing Snoqualmie pass, when we hit a patch of ice and started to slide. After bouncing around the road we finally came to a stop. Apparently we weren't the only ones who discovered the ice, there were several cars in front of us off the road, and a 50 car pile up was behind us.
In this picture you are seeing our car, and then the pile up. Our car is facing the wrong direction. You can't see most of the damage on our car in this shot, but I chose it because it had the view of the accident.
After about a month of waiting the insurance finally told us that our car was totaled. It was hard to say good-bye to that good friend. But thankfully it got all 4 of us through that wreck in one piece.

There have been lots of other stuff too, but that is the big things. Part of me really hopes things can start settling down now, but the other part of me realizes that life never settles down, it just changes, and brings new experiences. At least in that time we have also made many wonderful friends.

Any Suggestions?

I have a problem, but before I ask for advice I need to give a little background.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a program for children between the ages of 18 months and 12 years. 18 months to 3 years is called nursery and 3 to 12 years is called Primary. Infants under 18 months stay with their parents in the parents meetings.
My husband and I teach a primary class of children who are turning 9 and 10 this year. Cinderella, who is 3 is in Primary. Guy who is only 10 months, is stuck with Mom and Dad.

So the problem: Guy is getting to be a distraction in our primary class during the hour that we try to teach a lesson. He is mobile so he is constantly moving and getting into things, and the kids want to be on the floor playing with him instead of listening to the lesson. I need to figure out what to do with him for at least that hour of church.
Last year I tried asking one of the women from our church to watch him, but we would forget to get him to her, and she has responsibilities that keep her pretty busy, so I feel bad asking her to do it again. The other women that I know well, either also have responsibilities during that time, or children under 18 months themselves.

I tried asking our Relief Society (the organization in our church set up to meet the needs of the women) President if she had any suggestions. She suggested someone who was only able to do it that week, and didn't really want the responsibility every week. Which I can totally understand. She doesn't really know me and she doesn't know my kid, why should she want to watch him for me.
Anyway I am without ideas, so I thought I would turn to this source. Actually I prayed about it and thought I should write a blog on the subject. So I would welcome any suggestions, and if you don't have any suggestions, I would welcome prayers, because I have been so frazzled, and stressed after church every Sunday this year, I'm not sure how much more my nerves can stand.

First Popsicle

So the other day, Cinderella was running down the hall and bit her tung. It was bleeding, and is her style lately, she started screaming hysterically.
So I got her an otter-pop. Well she wanted me to have one too, so I opened one for me as well. About this time Guy wandered into the kitchen, wanting to know what treat we were trying to sneak past him. Cinderella let him have a taste of hers, and then he just HAD to have more.
"Please can't I have some?"
"I'll be your best friend, and let you play with my toys when ever you want!"
"I've just GOT to have another taste of that Popsicle!"
"Thank you mom. Mmmm that tastes good!"

He's Walking

Guy is walking. Can you believe it. OK so I may be exaggerating a little, but not much. It is a common sight to look up and see him tottering around, with a great big grin on his face, cause he knows he is doing something really cool.
One day I had the camera out, and as is his normal form, when he saw the camera, he thought he had to have it, so he made a bee line for the camera. The catch was, this time he was walking.
So I started taking pictures, then I remembered the video setting.
The only problem was, as you can see, it is sideways. I forgot how I was holding the camera, and that I can't rotate video.

After I realized what I had done, I tried to get him to repeat his performance, but he realized what I was up to and refused.
I did get it a few days later, with the aid of my husband.

I also got his game that he plays when he gets tired of walking and thinks, "I can do this crawling", and gets going really fast. This time my husband and I were far apart, but you can imagine how funny this was to watch when we were a lot closer together.

New LDS First Presidency

A week ago yesterday, the Latter Day Saint Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away. He was the prophet for a good portion of my life. He made a great impact on me, and helped me gain a greater understanding of the Gospel. I will truly miss him, but I know that he has gone to a better place.

Today the Church made it's announcement as to who the new prophet would be as well as his councilors in the First Presidency. If you are familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you may be aware that the presidency has always followed seniority. Due to this it wasn't a surprise to have President Thomas Spencer Monson announced as the new Prophet. I was listening to the press conference in which this announcement was made, and my testimony was further strengthened.

After the announcement President Monson, and his new councilors, President Eyring and President Uchtdorf gave their comments on their new callings. Following that the press was allowed to ask questions. As I listened to the answers I felt the Holy Spirit manifest to my heart that these men are called of God, and are the people that the Lord wants to lead His church at this time. It is so awesome, to know that through it all the Lord is in control.