Parenting Archives - Page 17 of 18

11:26 am by admin

ONE A DAY WORKS FOR ME

works for me wednesday at we are that family

No, I’m not writing about vitamins! (although those are needed for a working mom to keep up in a hectic life)

I’m actually talking about doing one thing a day. Whether it’s an errand, a chore or a load of laundry.

Back in my days as a single working gal in Houston, I became frustrated that my Saturdays were always busy with errands. I began making a point to do one errand a day so that I didn’t have to go pick up dry cleaning, shop for groceries, or run other errands on Saturdays. This habit became a way for me to spend Saturdays relaxing at home, and not hectically running around town trying to get things done.

When I made the commitment to run one errand a day, I found myself at home with nowhere I had to go on Saturday mornings. I could enjoy my Saturday as I wanted!

One thing I’ve started doing recently and really wish I would’ve done this years ago is to complete one small chore a day. Yesterday morning I put my sheets in the washer after I woke up and put them in the dryer before leaving for work. When I got home, I pulled fresh, clean sheets out of the dryer to make the bed. I LOVE clean sheets! Especially when it’s not much of a hassle.

An errand I despise is grocery shopping! I HATE grocery shopping after work when I’m tired and hungry and the stores are packed. Recently, I’ve begun using my lunch hour once a week to shop for my non-perishable groceries. Sometimes, that can be most of my shopping list and I can keep them in the car until I get home in the evening.

Doing one thing a day helps me cope in my hectic life. What are things that you do to make your life less hectic?

Y’all have a great week and take care of yourself!
Hugs!

4:01 am by admin

Thankful for GRADUATION!!!

I am SO thankful that my stepson is graduating from high school! YEAH!!!

Now, most of you are probably saying, “Ok, that’s nice.” But you really don’t understand the challenge of educating an ADHD kid with Asperger’s Syndrome! [For those of you who may not know – Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of autism]

When I married my husband 6 years ago, Bubba (yes, we ARE in Texas) was struggling in junior high. He was in regular classrooms for some subjects, but still mostly in special education classes.

Bubba had been living with his mother when he came to live with us for his 8th grade year. He was placed into regular classes for ALL his subjects that became TORTURE!!! The school was claiming that he had accommodations, BUT we literally spent from 4pm to 8pm doing homework every night! I began finding notes and drawings of him drowning and being chased by sharks.

Alarmed, we called a meeting with the school’s special education committee. The committee refused to place him back into any special education classes claiming that he had enough accommodations stating that “he’s just lazy.” They decided that he would have mandatory tutorials after school every day. (They wanted to take the pressure of homework off of me and my husband.) And do absolutely NOTHING for our son!

Two weeks later, we decided that since we were teaching his school work to him at home anyway, we might as well withdraw him and homeschool him. This was a tough decision considering my husband taught at Bubba’s school.

Even though we faced skepticism, even among family, it was the BEST decision we could have ever made for our son! For our family!

For two years, Bubba flourished with his education. He finally learned to divide. He learned how to cook macaroni and cheese and other dishes. He learned how to wash his own clothes. History was fun! Civil War re-enactments are the best learning tools!. He joined 4-H and began enjoying photography. He entered the county science fair and won $75 his first year.

However, in dealing with infertility, I made the decision to return to work 3 years ago. We enrolled him in the private school associated with our new church home; however, cliques are cliques are cliques no matter what high school it is, even if it does teach conservative Christian values. Bubba’s social challenges, probably due to his Asperger’s Syndrome, began causing a marked change and he began showing signs of anti-social behavior. Additionally, the school was unaccredited and did not know how to deal with kids with special education needs.

With all of the behavior and academic struggles, for this school year, we decided to enroll him in the public high school where my husband teaches.

This senior year has been better, but getting him to do his homework has still been a struggle. Thankfully, the school has a website that allows parents to monitor grades and missed assignments. Finally, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, his interest in Welding has waned this semester and we’ve even been sweating whether or not he was going to graduate until last Friday when he passed his Welding final with a 75.

YIPEE!!! GRADUATION!!!!!

Have any of you dealt with any of these academic struggles with your kids?

12:45 pm by admin

CELEBRATING BEING A FIRST-TIME MOM

This was my very first Mother’s Day as an “official” MOM! I’ve been a stepmother for 6 years, a foster mother for 3 years; but this was my very first Mother’s Day since adopting Stinkpot.

The time I enjoy most as a mother is watching my kids laughing and playing, and I wanted this on Mother’s Day. Originally, I wanted to have a picnic in the park just enjoying the kids being kids, but the weather was threatening, SO…

I chose to have my Mother’s Day luncheon at…

CHUCK E. CHEESE!

My husband hesitantly obliged — He wanted to take me to a nice restaurant to treat me with a special meal.

But before you say I’m crazy let me tell you what I was thinking…

The kids wouldn’t enjoy sitting still in a nice restaurant, we wouldn’t enjoy making them sit still, and the meal would end with us making a mad dash out the door while Stinkpot made a huge scene. Not exactly my idea of enjoyable.

Tell me! Is that nuts? Should I have requested a nicer meal than pizza?

Here is my story…
When I was 5 years old, my dad took me to the old K-Mart on New Road to buy a gift for Mother’s Day. His idea was to buy her an LP album of her favorite music, but this strong-willed little girl saw the “Cinderella” album and just KNEW my mother wanted that album.
Dad asked me as he picked up a Percy Sledge album,
“Don’t you think she would like this one better?”
“Oh no, Daddy, she would like Cinderella!”

He purchased 2 albums & I ran excitedly to my mother to give her the gift I just knew she would love!

As she looked at the Cinderella album in her hands, I exclaimed, “Mommy, don’t you want to listen to Cinderella?”

“Oh no, Sweetheart. Why don’t you go to your room & listen to it?” And off I went, so happy on Mother’s Day!

So let me tell you – I had a GREAT Mother’s Day at Chuck E. Cheese!
(plus there was hardly anyone else there!)

Here’s a picture my husband took of me laughing with Lil Bit, our 9-month-old foster baby.
I’ve entered it in this week’s I Heart Faces photography challenge – Celebrating Mom.

Click on this link to head over to their incredible website & check out all the inspiring photos celebrating mom!

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Have a great week!
Hugs to y’all!
~penny

12:52 pm by admin

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

On this Mother’s Day with my children (adopted & foster) – –

The Gift of Life
I didn’t give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn’t give you The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
— Unknown

Have a great Mother’s Day!
Hugs to y’all,
~penny
http://txpenelope.blogspot.com

1:44 pm by admin

THE PRAYER OF A TODDLER

The other night, Stinkpot was saying his prayers:

“God bless Mommy
and
Daddy

and

French fries
and

chicken nougats
and

Grandma
and
PawPaw

and

Skittles
and

Granny”

What things do you pray for?

Have a great weekend!
Hugs to y’all,
~penny

10:13 pm by admin

UPDATE ON LIL BIT (Part 4) – Another Hospital Visit

Thanks to an obstinate dairyman, I had a meeting scheduled out-of-town at 4 pm on Good Friday. Making lemonade out of lemons, my family traveled out of town with me on our way up to the Metroplex to visit cousins during the Easter holiday weekend.

That night, Lil Bit began coughing a horrible cough throughout the night. I called the local hospital to see if he could get RSV again (he was hospitalized with it for 4 days in February). “Yes!” was the reply. At 4 o’clock in the morning I dressed and headed to the small-town ER with Lil Bit coughing the entire way.

My thoughts were racing – if Lil Bit needs to be hospitalized:

Can I take him to the hospital back home or would they want him to stay here?
Would he have to ride in an ambulance as Stinkpot did last time he was hospitalized?
How long would we have to stay in this small-town hospital?
Would he need to spend another 4 days in the hospital like the last time he had RSV?

I arrived at the ER and the doctors were quick to examine him. The doctor’s thought was that with his throat being so red that he may have strep throat. The nurses came in and tested him for strep & RSV.
The tests results came back quickly: No strep, no RSV, just a common cold. YEAH! We can leave!
When I got back to the hotel, everyone was up & ready for breakfast. Ready for an Easter egg hunt!
A funny thing did happen in this small-town hotel though. I thought it only happened in the movies, but….
the elevator broke down with my kids inside!!!
After that fiasco, we finally were able to head to my sister’s house & the cousins had such a good time together on their Easter egg hunt. They were so proud of their findings!!

Have a great week with your family!
Hugs to y’all!

2:59 am by Penelope

BABY FOR FOSTER CARE ONLY…LATER ADOPTED!

On Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at around 3pm, I received a call from CPS for an 8-month-old baby boy that needed a foster home. “Foster only“, she repeated twice. “Sure!” was my quick response.

If you recall, that was election day. My husband & I were planning to attend our precinct convention that evening & were excited about the possibility of attending the Texas Republican convention again, this time in a presidential election year.However, this call from CPS changed our focus from that night forward.

A CPS investigator from an adjacent county arrived at our home at 6:45 that Tuesday evening carrying in her arms the cutest baby boy. His bright eyes lit up as he smiled at us for the first time. His bottom 2 teeth gleaming. He was wearing an olive corduroy jacket over his navy onesie with the cutest navy & white striped pants. He was wearing navy tennis shoes! So adorable!

I can only rely on my memory as I didn’t have the foresight to grab my camera.
(A mistake I haven’t made again!)

As the CPS investigator began telling us the story on this baby, we were thinking “how can anybody neglect a baby that way?” He came with next to nothing & had been kept in his car seat & dirty diapers. What a horrible diaper rash he had! (This is one reason we are having such a difficult time potty-training him now!) He was 8 months old & couldn’t sit up or even roll over! He was also very sick. (Look at those poor little sick eyes!)

JD’s sick little eyes when he arrived

That first night was TORTURE! He was so congested that he could only sleep 15 minutes at a time – ALL NIGHT LONG! It was the most exhausting night of my life!

The next morning I drove 1-1/2 to pick up my mother-in-law to help me. I had no idea how to care for an infant! (When pregnant, you have nearly 8-9 months to prepare.) I was an instant Mommy!

For the next 2 weeks, we had DAILY trips to Walmart to pick up some type of baby paraphernalia that we needed. I was absolutely, totally FRAZZLED for at least 6 weeks solid – overwhelmed by the incredible responsibility of instant motherhood!

As time went on, it became more apparent that this baby wouldn’t be going back to his mother. He did have a full brother 2 years older that was living with his paternal grandmother. The baby would have been sent to live with his grandmother, but she was already raising SIX of her other grandchildren!

Once the mother’s rights were terminated, the grandmother realized that we could provide more for the baby than she could & decided to allow us to adopt him.

Here he is on the day we adopted him!

What a handsome little man he is!