christmas morning

it was wonderful having the grands and the uncle here for christmas! santa (and the grands and uncle) were way too good to the kids. they did leave him cookies and homemade eggnog!
cj got a laser tag game and night vision goggles. mr got a guitar game and wheelie cycle. em got all things hannah montana, guitar game, barbie, makeup (oh the horror), etc. the dog even got a bone she's still enjoying.
and yes, once again, they were all grateful! glory hallelujah! :) well, actually the dog has yet to say thanks...

christmas eve, something new: gratefulness

the kids got to open their secret santa gifts tonight. they drew names again between the 3 of them. (and no they haven't worked out the math yet, to realize they should know who got them!) they did a great job of picking just the right gifts for each other! (they were actually thoughtful!) and all were very happy AND grateful! (didja year that? grateful!) they even gave each other hugs and SAID thank you. it was honestly a little weird! a good weird, but weird nonetheless. but i'm grateful that they were grateful!
we're always nervous at christmastime because the past few years we've gotten such RADical comments that it's just heartbreaking (both for us to hear and for them to think). but this year was GOOD! good all around. we're very thankful for such a great holiday!

christmas party, at home

the boys had christmas parties at school and em decided she should get to have one too, even though she's at home. we thought that was brilliant and put her in charge (also brilliant). :)
she really worked hard making signs, a paper chain, and decorating the kitchen, setting the table, etc. she made a gingerbread house, and lunch (complete with christmas cookies) for dad and me too! we even played pin the nose on rudolf (which she drew!) it was a great party!

christmas pics

i am so behind on blogging! here are some of our christmas pics. random boring stuff coming up!

a "hard" job

We’re trying to teach EM and MR a good work ethic and haven’t been a lick successful at that. After Dad made some pudding, he went up to offer the kids a job and we could have predicted the outcome…

Dad: Who’s willing to do a job?
CJ: I will!
Dad: You don’t even know what it is yet.
CJ: I don’t care, I like to work hard.
Dad: MR?
MR: Maybe…
Dad: EM?
EM: Is it a pay job?
Dad: Nope.
EM: Nah, not if it’s not a pay job.
Dad: MR last chance?
MR: Hmmm, nah, not if it’s not a pay job.
Dad: Okay, thanks. Come on CJ.

And Dad tells CJ he needs him to clean out the pudding bowl really good with a spoon and eat it all! : ) Later EM and MR said they think they’ll say yes to the next job, but we’ll see! I know they don't have logic and won't really get it, so maybe it's more cruel than educational. But maybe one day...

the poor dog and em's RADical comment

So the poor dog had a seizure or something this morning. She's older than dirt and getting stiff and frail and all, but she'd been in bed with CJ and I went up to wake everyone up (which is odd in itself). But she got down and went in EM's room and was walking around as usual. I was trying to pull MR off the top bunk and heard her fall (hardwood floors) and she started thrashing around. I'll spare you all the details, but it was freaky scary! It was loud and long and the kids saw it all. She finally calmed down and Dad carried her downstairs (wasn't sure if she hurt anything) and she went outside and seemed fine. She appears to be fine still, no problems all day. So we're just a bit nervous now.
The RAD tie-in (isn't there always one?) is what EM said. (Fyi, she's been asking for a puppy, and as good RADical parents we've been saying no). As Dad carried the dog down the stairs, she said this wouldn't happen if we had a puppy. I was so glad Dad was holding the dog! I just told her that was very inappropriate and we'd talk about it later. But I was struggling between being mad because I was worried about the dog and sad because I understand she's not capable of understanding why that was awful to say.
And I wish there wasn't more to the story, but I guess I should confess my screw ups here, so here you go. I meant to explain it well so she'd understand why that was mean, but I was still mad (yeah, unregulated, thinking about me, I know). And I said (cover your eyes) you know when you're having a hard time feeling your feelings? How would you feel if we said this wouldn't happen if we had a normal girl? She said bad. I said yeah, but we wouldn't do that because we love you no matter what. And went on to make nice, but sheesh. I felt bad. Just frustrating and yeah, not handled the best.
On a positive note, Dad walked in soon after and I told her she ought to apologize and she did, with real tears in her eyes! She seemed genuinely sad, not just sad she was in trouble. So, maybe a little positive anyway.

taking pride in her appearance, and other steps of progress

this morning em spent a considerable amount of time in the bathroom. i assumed she was um, reading while, you know. but no, she was primping! she came out with hair pulled up into a pony tail, a ribbon that matches her shirt, and also-matching stick-on earrings carefully placed on her ears! many moms would say yeah, so? but hopefully you RADical moms will say with me: holy cow!!!!
this is my little girl who usually takes about 1.37 minutes to brush her hair and teeth without noticing there's a mirror in there. she took pride in her appearance!
AND a few posts down i mentioned she was considerate to dad.
AND the other day she stepped on my foot and sincerely apologized.
AND she's saying thank you very often now.
AND she chose to sit with me instead of dad during family movie night and even cuddled under a blanket with me.
AND she's doing a lot more nervous laughing at night cause she's feeling loved more quickly and more often.
it's so encouraging to finally be seeing little pieces of progress and VERY cool to see them coming more often! this is how it started with mr, and he's now my cuddly little sweetheart.
i could get used to this! don't worry, i'm riding the roller coaster and know it'll go up AND down, but i'm just saying. :)

inventions and blueprints

em was bored and being encouraged to "use her brain" which she hates to do, but does well when she gives in. she came down with an invention she built, complete with the plans she drew up to create it! it's called an antiseeonator. according to her, it enables you to see things up close AND when you hold it up to the sun, it shines a light so you can see them better. so there you have it. patent pending. :)

art class and bracelets

dad does the boring part of school with em (the part that requires patience, cause i'm kinda low on that). but i get to do the fun stuff, science, art, and anything i can make fun, low pressure, bonding, and un-school-like. i thought em would really dig making beaded bracelets, so had planned to do that one day soon. on thanksgiving, her aunt gave her a huge box of beads, so we began! besides hand-eye stuff, which she needs, i'm sure there are things she's learning, color combinations, patterns, sequencing, whatever, it's fun! she's made some cute ones, and even made me one, which i proudly wear always (like now, even though it's blue and i'm wearing red & black). and isn't she festive in her santa hat?? :)

my little em was considerate!

we're slowly seeing some progress with em and today at lunchtime, she was considerate! which of course we oohed and ahhed about. it was time for lunch and there was only enough leftover sloppy joes for one person. she walked into the office and asked dad if he wanted any sloppy joes! she didn't say dad i want sloppy joes, so there's not enough for you. or even please don't eat any sloppy joes because i want it. she actually just very nicely asked him if he wanted some! he said no thanks and she said okay, well there's only enough for one, so i guess i can have it. (i wasn't eating then). i said em! that was so considerate of you to put others first! i'm so proud of you! mr's becoming very considerate, and now em seems to be getting it slowly too. she's starting to say thank you on her own now too. yay, love seeing progress!