Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Pants

So we get back from ten days of romping all over the US, unpack the car, eat our first home cooked meal in days, lay the kids down in their own beds and my final thoughts on the trip- I have to get out of these pants that are so freaking tight from eating so much good food! Can't wait to share pics and stories. It was great.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Tired

I'm just tired. That pretty much sums it up. I'm really tired. It is a crazy exhausted thick sort of feeling that I have had explained as a physiological reaction to living for extended periods in survival mode. Every now and again I am just drained. Heavy. Slow. It seems that my body is chastising me for all of the running at or above the psychological red line. When this is your life you try not to think of it as hard all of the time or it gets harder. You know what though? It is hard. Doing the physical job of a 5 year old as well as you own is hard. Being the constant motivator, reminder, self esteem builder, supporter, positioner, stretcher, exerciser, cooker, feeder, nose blower, wiper, clothes changer blah, blah, BLAH, BLAH! Not to mention that I have to be the home PT, OT, ST and teacher. I recently wrote out the stretching that we (Ben and I, yes he gets me to stretch too) do to let someone know what we are doing in a day. We don't do it all at the same time and I usually just work in bits and pieces while we play. Most of what we do is still fun but crumb, it's a long list. Here it is... PT Stretching -On back bicycle legs -On back hamstring stretch With opposite leg free to move With opposite leg straight on the floor -Abductor stretch Both legs stretch up and out into a “V”. Use adult body to lean in and press into stretch. -Heel cord stretch -Long sitting straight leg (use lap desk for activity or any TV time) -Long sitting open (hands forward for activity between legs) For both long sitting: maintain good leg position (feet and knees up or out) and good hip position (up on his sits bones). Use vertical surface to support back or own body sitting behind Ben. -Row, Row, Row Your Boat Facing Ben with both sets of legs open in a “V”, adult calves over Ben shins. Maintain good positioning of legs (knees straight, knees and feet pointed out). Allow Ben to rock back and bring himself to center (sit up action) then smoothly pull forward to accomplish hamstring, hip and abductor stretch. *change end of song to “if you see and ______, don’t forget to scream. Ahhh” let Ben choose what he sees. -Butterfly position Flap wings (fast and slow) “Smell your stinky socks” -Move into rocking chair from butterfly Tuck head forward and adult rocks Ben back onto his back then forward back to the tucked butterfly position. Maintain tuck and assist to maintain straight rock (don’t allow to roll onto sides). Assist as much or as little as Ben requires. Sometimes you have to do it all, sometimes very little. -Move into starfish From tucked butterfly roll onto left side, roll onto back, roll onto right side then back to tucked butterfly. Repeat equally in both directions. -Ball work Bounce on the ball with legs open (*Horsey, Horsey)- Allow for rocking to the side with Ben catching himself and righting to center. Bounce with a fall back- Encourage Ben to pull himself forward to straight (super sit ups) repeat as tolerated (*Ride a Horsey) Super Man catches- On belly rock forward so Ben has to put hands out to catch. -Half stand stretch Adult seated with one of Ben's legs straight and planted other leg bent at 90 degrees over adult leg. I took out the words to the songs that we sing for each stretch because otherwise this post would be twice as long. I didn't even get to typing out the exercises that we incorporate. I don't have time because of all of the creative therapy we are doing! It is all pretty much still fun and games for them, and I say them because Kiera is TOTALLY on board with this. But for me it is a lot of work to make it fun. And sometimes I just don't feel fun! And for goodness sake my house is a mess. I don't need a cleaning lady, I need a come over everyday and tidy up, do dishes and laundry lady. The dog started barking at dinner time and I was fully prepared to hide rather than open my door to show anyone my house. If you know me then you know it must be bad. Now it is late and my head is just swimming with the lists of things to take care of and the appointments to make (kids are taken care of but mine are always behind) and chores and projects to be done. Physically drained. Mind racing. We're going on vacation in 8 days. Thank goodness. I can make it fun for that long. Then it's maid service here I come!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

I have been tagged for the very first time by Billie and Allison. Both are super duper twin mama's and women I am lucky enough to call my friends. Billie is (as may be the case for more than a few of us) the blog that got me started and Allison is the person who told me that Billie had a blog in the first place. I may have actually been the last to know ; ) Anyway, it is the 7 Random Facts thingy and I am sure that I can think of something so... Here are the rules: 1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you. 2. Post THE RULES on your blog. 3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog. 4. Tag 7 people and link to them. 5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged. My random facts: 1. This is the first time I have ever posted a link on my blog. At least in the cool way that doesn't show the whole http...I seriously never knew how so avoided links like the plague to avoid the embarrassment. So here I am, tagged for the very first time and had to swallow my pride and ask my hubby. He got me pointed in the right direction and then I, yes I figured it out on my own. Did I mention that I dropped "Intro to Technical Computing" for fear of failing it my first year in college? 2. When I was little I wanted a monkey (who didn't!). Then I decided that I wanted a squirrel. Since squirrels are hard to come by (and much to my mom's dismay) my dad helped me get a pet skunk. Yes, I had a pet skunk that my sisters boyfriend named Skippy. I got him when he was 4 weeks old and de-skunked, carried him home in the palm of my hand and bottle fed him round the clock for weeks. He was pretty cool and lived to be a cranky old fat skunk man and alas is buried in my mom's back yard. 3. The first car that I ever bought was a red 1969 VW Beetle. It cost me $500. It was soooo cool but soooo loud and soooo cold. In the winter I would have to scrape both the inside and outside of the windshield while I was driving. Now that I think of it, I am lucky to have survived that car. 4. I have had cancer. So now I have no thyroid. I don't recommend it. I have been cancer free for 7 1/2 years. 5. My body and my appetite want me to weigh about 40 pounds more than I do right now. I love to eat. I LOVE TO EAT! Food is my friend no matter the emotion or stress level. I have had to fight for every pound that I have ever lost and have only succeeded in losing weight at about 1200 calories or less. I am a weight watchers person and when I reached my goal weight (oh, this was before kids) I learned that I maintain my weight at about 1400 calories. So I am about 25 pounds up from that goal and not sure that I ever will be, or want to be that small again. Did I mention that I love to eat? 6. I started ballet when I was three years old. I went up on point when I was 11 and started jazz when I was 12. By the time I was 14 I was walking to my studio from school four days a week and dancing on Saturdays and Sundays as well. This was the same age that I knew that I would never go anywhere with it (I had hips and boobs) but stuck with it until my second year in college. I miss it terribly. Almost every day. I had ten pounds to lose then, and I weighed 120 pounds. Times have changed a bit : ) 7. I don't have my degree. I went to school for engineering, was there for 2 years, hated it, my dad got sick so I came home. I was a preschool teacher for 12 years. No, I was a good preschool teacher dang it! Don't look to my kids for proof, I have lost control of them. Anyway, I want to go back to school and am completely terrified so have found may ways around getting started. It will only take me about 7 years...uhhhh. There, now I am a really blogger. You got to read some really random facts since I have never done one of these before and probably learned more than you wanted to. Tag, you're it Heike , Sparx , Kellie, Shannon, and...well, I am having a heck of a time finding people that haven't been recently tagged so I'm heading to bed with only these four. Did I say that? I am going to bed with only listing four tags. That's a bit better. Good night all!

New Joke : )

Ben's new joke: Knock! Knock! Who's there? Gouda. Gouda who? Gouda to see you! HA HA HA HA HA (I laughed my head off then asked him who taught him that joke. He answered "I did!" Hmmm. I'm impressed if not amazed.)