A Bit of Knitting!

The chilly weather makes me want to do cozy things! I have been a bit busy knitting away in the evenings...and here are few of the results!

Sassy's hat

Tater's hat

Bruiser's hat (that he won't wear!)

My leg warmers

My pom-pom scarf...that I LOVE!

Our Holiday Card Reveal (With a Twist!)

Thanks to Shutterfly and their dedication to bloggers, we were able to choose a fabulous card this year! Instead of creating a picture card and writing a family holiday letter, I opted to choose this card (with our information inserted, of course!):

So yesterday I gave the card to my school secretary and she hung it up on the office door with all the other holiday cards from the teachers in the building. And this morning I received this updated version from the other kindergarten teacher in our building...who calls herself my friend!...

Our Top 10 REAL Moments of 2010

10: Tater gets the better K teacher...YEAH!!!

9: Bruiser heads off to the ER in van...Croup!

8: Sassy falls off bunk bed...ER trip #49

7: "Kissing" Tater gets written up on the school bus

6: WOW - vacation in NJ...is that Disney for young kids?

5: Dad escapes from crazy mom and kids

4: Mom escapes from crazy dad and kids

3: Mom sets up great pm...no Tater or Bruiser and napping Sassy

2: Sassy diagnosed with sensory issues -Round 2...DING!

#1: Spending time giving the "gift" of our children to family, friends, neighbors...anyone

who wants them!

With friends like that, who needs enemies!?!?!

Thanks SO much for your creativity and humor, Leslie!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Yesterday we attended our annual neighborhood Santa party! Tater was thrilled, Bruiser was angry, and Sassy was sad...so we covered all the emotions in one shot!

We had a fun afternoon with friends and the adults enjoyed some excellent chatting time while kids played contentedly.

If only the evening had ended better...Bruiser decided last night was the night to have a croup episode. He and I made a quick trip to the ER for some steroids and fever control...and now we are spending the day at home, resting.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

This afternoon we ventured to a nearby tree farm for a visit with Santa, a tractor-pulled musical sleigh ride, and some tree hunting! It was chilling and festive...and definitely set the holiday mood. We can't wait until next year when we plan to tag our own special tree, watch it grow and then chop it down!

Tater loves talking with Santa!

Bruiser needed Mommy to join him and Sassy wanted no part of the whole thing!

Love the faces!

This was the tree Tater wanted!

And tomorrow...

we decorate!

A Relaxing Long Weekend!

As I said before, we chose not to travel this weekend and spend the four days at home with just the five of us...and it has been wonderful!

Bruiser is in the midst of potty training and staying close has made it a bit less challenging...as much as that can be with a sensory child...who never knows when he has to "go"! I love how he wears his underwear...backwards so he can see the pictures! I mean, really! Whoever thought to put the picture on the back?

Daddy and Tater made a homemade pumpkin pie...crust and all!

Here's our T-Day turkey! Daddy did a great job!

And here are a few shots of the meal!

We spent the actual holiday at home and in jammies until the middle of the afternoon. Friday we did a bit of shopping (because we are crazy like that!) and Saturday ended up being another lazy day. We did venture out to lunch and Target...where Bruiser had a screaming meltdown and had to be removed from the store by Daddy...not that we were surprised! Today we all headed to the Y for a break...Mommy centered herself with a bit of yoga, Daddy strengthened those muscles with some weights, and the kids played in the play area. Amazingly we are all a bit calmer today! After a quick haircut for Tater, I came home to continue on with my Christmas preparations.

And now...for a last burst of holiday cheer before we return to work and school...we are heading out on a chilly mystery trip! Pictures and details tomorrow!

A Little Touch With Celebrity!

Our children are the most wonderful amazing things that have ever come into our lives. We treasure each moment of our "long days and short years." That said, as I have shared before, our children do present challenges and hurdles we have had to jump over and adapt our lives to. Bruiser was diagnosed over the summer with a mild sensory processing disorder (SPD) with a focus on the vestibular area. And, now this past week, Sassy received her diagnosis for SPD, but with a focus on the proprioceptive area. Where Bruiser's issues focus on movement (tipping of the head, spinning, inner ear related things, etc.) and tactile and noise related things, Sassy's has more to do with body awareness and balance. This past week was hard. As hard as it was, I accepted having one child with SPD and dove head first into helping him. Then we got the blow about Sassy... and I may have reached a breaking point. It's so challenging to meet their daily, moment-to-moment needs as well as scheduling and getting them to therapies and additional group sessions. But, don't get me wrong, no matter how hard it is, I will do whatever I have to help them and give them the most normal life possible. (Just say a little prayer for my sanity once in a while!)

So as I was diving head-first into this whole new realm of our life, I pulled out all my SPD reference books and began to review all that I had read with Bruiser. And sitting next to my computer is the book "The Out-of-Sync Child" by Carol Kranowitz. And today, when I returned from a particularly difficult day of shopping with all the kids, I found this comment for my blog in my inbox:

"Mommy and Bruiser, it's so nice to see my book, "The Out-of-Sync Child," on your bookshelf! You may also be interested in a new book I just co-authored with Joye Newman. The new book is "Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple, Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop, Learn and Grow" (Perigee, 2010). We include fun and functional activities that help strengthen sensory, perceptual-motor, and visual processing skills. They're great fun for kids and parents. I think you'll like it. Check out our website at www.in-sync-child.com

Blessings to you and your family,
-Carol Kranowitz "


I can only hope Carol knows how much her message meant to me! A comment from an "expert" on my little blog! Amazing! She turned my day right around!

A Different Kind of Holiday

We stayed home this year instead of making the trek "over the river and through the woods" to Mimi and Papa's or Memaw and Pop-Pop's house. This isn't the first Thanksgiving we stayed put...but it is the first one that we were all alone and decided to cook the entire traditional dinner. Despite a bit of stress (there were still three demanding children in the house!), Daddy and I worked well together, sharing the responsibility of making the dishes. The 21 pound turkey cooked for a bit more than 5 hours and was super-yummy! The only major problem was that the turkey filled the oven and we couldn't cook the other dishes! Luckily our across-the-street neighbors ate earlier than us and shared their oven space so we could eat everything at the same time. By dinnertime, we enjoyed the aforementioned turkey, homemade mashed potatoes, Pop-Pop's filling, creamy corn, sweet potato delight (a la Aunt Crystal) and rolls. Daddy and Tater even made a homemade pumpkin pie that was fresh out of oven and gobbled by three little mouths (and one big one!) before an early bedtime!

It was a different kind of day. There was quality time with each of the children, two Skype sessions with family far away (and one even "shared" their meal with Sassy!), and a laid-back relax feeling over all. As much as we missed the time spent with family, we have been craving this time in our home, without overloaded schedules, to just enjoy one another.

Hope everyone had a fabulous day...whether you spent it with your small family or your extended one!