Still trying to figure him out...

So I got the paperwork for Maverick's referral. There is a boatload to fill out and then it says a several MONTH wait. Are they kidding?!?!?! Unfortunately, not so much kidding!

An e-friend who I asked about the daily planner ideas suggested we try the Feingold Association. She gave me a link to their website and I went and checked it out. There is a registration fee and then you get their official food list and paperwork. I wasn't sure that it was worth the investment. I talked with my e-friend about it and she is so convinced in the program that we decided to try it. Our starter packet came last Friday. The official food list is 200 pages long...yep, 200! There are 2 phases of the program and each stage is 100 pages of acceptable foods. Acceptable brand names are listed. It comes with a restaurant guide and an explanation of the program and who Dr. Feingold is. We also got a book called "Why Can't My Child Behave!?!?!" That is a good read too.

We purged our cabinets of all the unacceptable foods over the weekend and went shopping last night. It really isn't about eating wierd things or whatever (although we do that anyway)...it is about buying brands of food that do not have synthetic dyes and flavoring. On the plan, we will also avoid BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. We will use only REAL sweeteners (sugar and honey). For the first 6 weeks, we are also eliminating natural salicylates (what are those???). Well, many (but not all) fruits....apples, all berries (including strawberries ): ) , tomatoes, peppers, peaches, oranges, etc. But after we see results we will start adding those back in one at a time to watch for reactions.

This evening I have a book party and I am going to be able to get away early so I'm going back to Walmart to buy things to make cleaning supplies...vinegar, baking soda, etc. We will cut the synthetic dyes and scents from that area of our house as well. Then I'll purge the laundry room and bathrooms as well.

I know that all of this sounds extreme. I am doing it and it sounds extreme and a little hard. But it is also hard dealing with behavior issues. Today started with kicking, screaming, punching, throwing, and (for the first time) strangling. That isn't easy either. So we started this morning. It can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to see a response. I am so hoping for a few days!! I hope I can cancel the appointment with the new doctor whenever it is we might have an appointment and tell them that it is all better. I really don't want to hear that he needs drugs...I'm hoping that a simple change in the chemicals we keep in our house is enough.

You know even if you don't have a "target child" who you think needs help. There are a lot of icky things in our food. It has been eye opening regardless of how it helps (although I really really think it is going to help). And if we try just a little bit and pay attention to what we buy we can really avoid many of them easily with a little support.

Oh, I'll give a report on the "daily planner" I spent so much time on and was so proud of. Aiden likes it pretty well. Maverick (who it is supposed to be helping) screamed, threw it across the kitchen and said "I DON'T WANT TO DO THE PLANNER ANYMORE!!!!!" this morning. I'll keep trying though.

Something New

Last Friday I had an appointment with the boys pediatrician. I went all by myself to discuss Maverick. I have been doing some online research and trying to find out what we can do to create less, well, everything from him. He is so out of control so much of the time. I discovered something called Pervasive Sensory Dysfunction and wanted to discuss it with the doctor. I told her that I know that internet research is a blessing and a curse for doctors (she laughed and agreed) but that I found a checklist and went through it and it helped me think of some specific things that make him go nuts! I explained some of the things that we struggle with and that I just don't know what to do with him. Right now, I can restrain him physically if I HAVE to but that time will come to an end all too soon. The appointment went very well. Dr Bingham said that we need more help than she can give and gave us a referral to another doctor. We don't have a date yet but will be receiving paperwork soon.

The one thing that she recommended for us to try is a daily schedule that HE has some "control" over. We already have a pretty set routine, although it is flexible to a certain extent. So after brainstorming with some friends in real life and e-friends, I came up with this idea. It is a picture "daily planner." Both Aiden and Maverick made one. It is done "lapbook" style and most things we do are represented by a picture that we all colored together. I am sure I will be making more cards at some point...probably soon! I will put them in the order we will do them and then when the boys complete that part they take it off and put it in the "all done" pocket. I hope this works...we just finished it today so it will take a few days (or weeks...ha) to see how it works.

The "cover" which is actually inside the outside flaps. It upsets Maverick when we cut the picture down the line so that the lapbook can open.

The inside of Aiden's Daily Planner. The extra flap up is attach to give us extra room...it was done with cardstock.
Inside Maverick's daily planner. He has already moved the completed things to the "all done" pocket.

Easter Sunday!

The boys were SO SO SO cute in their Easter outfits this year. They looked like such little men. And by some miracle we were able to get a good picture of all of them. Maverick even has a nice smile and not the normal picture "grimace."

We had a wonderful afternoon at nanny and pappy's house. It was a great time with family!

Easter Party at Church

So I am co-leader of the Kindergarten through 4th graders at church. We do the scheduling and help with substitutes and teacher training and stuff like that. We also try to do something extra for the kids every now and again. So I planned an Easter thing for today since there was early dismissal.

It is finished now and I have TWO "notes to self."

1. Do not plan an event for children when there is a full moon.

2. Do not plan an event for children when they have been having parties at school all day for a holiday...they are full of sugar.

3. (I know I said 2 but...) Do not plan an event for children when there is a full moon AND they have had parties with candy at school.

So, although I did "learn" a few things, we had a great time. We made tissue paper flowers and put some in pots to deliver to the nursing home. And we made several into bouquets and walked them to the Hamiltion Apartments (for Seniors) and just set them in front of their doors without knocking. That was kinda a long walk but we needed a chance to walk off some crazies (see above "notes to self").

Anyway, overall it was great. There were 14 kids. They did so great at the nursing home. The residents just loved that we all came in and the kids held their hands and smiled! It was perfect. Although they acted like hooligans while we were doing other things, I was very proud of them in the nursing home. One of them reminded me that the last time I took them to the nursing home that I said I would never take them back. They did MUCH better this time.

I hope that the residents at the Senior Apts enjoy their bouquets. The kids had fun sneaking down the hallway and putting them in front of the doors. They were excited about the surprise!

Well, I am beat and ready to just relax now. It feels good to something good for someone else even if it was tiring!

Getting Ready for Easter!

Easter is less than a week away and we are getting ready.

Nanny is making Easter dinner...ham, potatoes, and I don't know what else. It will be a big meal! YUM!

We got the boys Easter shirts. Actually, we did that twice. I found some that I liked OK but we weren't coming up with any other options so I got them. Then yesterday while at Children's Place (thanks Aubrey for the idea), I found the PERFECT Easter shirts. I am SO excited about them. I only wish I had something cute to wear...I'll try to dig something up though.

We got the little plastic eggs and enough candy to make us all diabetic. We got the Easter baskets (well, they are buckets) and little gifts to put in them. Aiden, for the first time ever, saw an ad for something and said "Can I have that?" Since it happens to be a math game that will help learn addition, we ordered that for him too.

....Then I got to thinking. Easter is really no different than Christmas. It is a Holy Day that we have turned into a reason to buy a bunch of junk we don't need with money we don't have to burn. It is now reason to get nice outfits so we can look nice at church for the people who only come on Easter and Christmas...the regulars like we are know that we don't always wear dresses and ties to church. And those who know us well know that we are lucky if the pants and shirt match much less match each other's outfits (which is a must for Easter services). It is a chance to totally blow our diet and eat till we are sick. Granted, it is a nice opportunity to spend time with family.

But in reality Easter is NONE of those things. It isn't about candy, or big meals, or dressing up in matching clothes. It isn't about colored eggs or a bunny! It is the a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is about the fact that He is returning again. Easter is truly a Holy Day and not just a holiday. So I challenge you this week to find a way to celebrate the Holy Day and not just a holiday. Bring the suffering and death of Christ into you and your children's minds. Then, CELEBRATE that Christ overcame that to save us!! I would like to hear the ideas that you had. I want to know what you did so I can use it next year! lol

We are making Resurrection Cookies. Go here for directions. We made them last year from this recipe and they turned out great. We're doing them again this year. My whole family thought they tasted great. I did not but the lesson is so vivid that it is worth the trouble (and the cost of pecans).

Of course, we are still all dressing up (well, the boys will and I will if I can find something). We are still gonna eat too much ham and have an egg hunt. It is part of the celebration now too!! We aren't dying eggs simply because I hate the mess and the boys are scared of costumed people so the Easter bunny is unheard of around here. We are just going to be sure that Christ is a primary part of the celebration.

Have a Happy Easter!!

What a Weekend!

Yesterday the big boys went fishing with Nanny and Pappy all afternoon and got to spend the night. Yeah for everyone!!! Shane and I took advantage (along with Griffin) and went out with Jace and Jen. We laughed as we did it because it seems to be an annual event. We went to Don Sol (yummy Mexican restaurant in Mattoon) and then got the boys Easter clothes and stuff for the egg hunt and their Easter baskets. We did the exact same thing last year. We also went mini golfing. All in all it was a nice evening. I think the boys will be pleased with their Easter candy and stuff too!! And from the nanny and pappy report they did had a great time, behaved well, and ate LOADS of dinner.

Today we had church. Shane led the song service which was long today. Mark just did a 15 minute devotion and the rest was a praise service. I interpretted the entire service in sign language and then interpretted Sunday School like normal. I have to say that by the end of it all I was quite tired. But the service was just wonderful!!! I didn't do a great job in Sunday School though. My brain kinda shut down and I couldn't think of signs...even easy ones! lol I'm sure Dale was laughing at me inside his head!

This afternoon ALL the boys took naps and I got ready for the next 2 weeks of school. We are finishing up reptiles, then insects, then man. All day 6 of Creation. It is very exciting!! We will learn about the food chain and the life cycle of silk worms. We will learn about how ALL man is created in the image of God and yet we are all different. I am so ready to get going.

Aiden is going to start working on telling time and skip counting (10's, then 5's). I have been finishing up my curriculum shopping and he needs those 2 things in order to be ready for the level of math I'm getting but the one under it he will be bored with...and we can learn that I think. He is already asking about and figuring out the clock. And the skip counting he just has to memorize...so we'll get it! I also found a handwriting curriculum I would like to buy. For little guys it seems great because it doesn't go straight to paper and pencil which can be so frustrating for them...we'll use other things. I am going to wait a little while and try to find it used I think...or at least part of it. It is called Handwriting without Tears.

It has been a great weekend and I am so thankful for the nice weather yesterday. Tomorrow we are supposed to get snow (seriously?!?!?). I am so ready for spring and it is just taking entirely too long!!

Around the Cessna House

We have had a pretty good week.
On Wednesday Mom and I made 10 pints of ketchup. In my More With Less Cookbook, I had found a recipe for home canned ketchup that I wanted to try. Mom found 2 #10 cans of diced tomatoes (that's 2 gallons of tomatoes) that were going to be thrown away at church (they had been donated and were not being used). So instead of throwing them away she brought them home and we decided to try the ketchup NOT using our tomatoes for the first time. It takes a while since it has to simmer for 1 1/2 hours but man is it worth it. It is so yummy and it was cheap to make. We got 10 pints from the 2 cans since we had to drain off much of the liquid before we started. I am so excited about it. The official taste testers (Aiden and Maverick) both gave 2 thumbs up. Now I really really hope our tomatoes do well this year so we can do another batch or so in addition to canning diced tomatoes.
The boys have been doing really well this week with their chore charts and they beg to have school each morning. It is SO nice! Of course, next week is full of things to do AND a full moon so we have a long way to fall. Today we started learning about reptiles and Aiden asked to draw some. This is his paper.
He decided what to draw and I helped him spell the words. He did a nice job I think. We are still using Weaver Interlock. Since on my last post someone from AOP (the publishing company) asked me to include a link I will mention that a link to their site is available on the left column of this blog. It is a great curriculum and we love it!!

Menards has called a couple times this week. All of the pieces for our garage are ready for delivery. Unfortunately, I had them postpone our delivery dates. With all the rain we've gotten there is no way the concrete can be poured. So there is no reason to have the lumber sitting here. And I'm not sure the concrete trucks will be able to get in very well with lumber and huge trusses laying around. So now we wait. I am also afraid they will call about pouring concrete while Shane and dad are turkey hunting and not home. I will have to say no because they have to be here to do the plumbing in the concrete. Oh, timing is everything! I now understand a little bit how some friends, my cousins, feel. They have been waiting to have their brand new modular home set for 2 months now but the rain is holding them off. I'm impatient waiting for a garage...a home is so much more a big deal!!!

Well, that is the weekly scoop on our family...next week will be crazy with a day out on Monday (the big boys are going to a friend's house but don't know it), eye doctor on Tuesday, a project for me with the Children's Ministry on Thursday and a dr appt on Friday that only I am going to. Whew! It wears me out just thinking about it! We gotta fit school in there too. Yikes!!!

I'm gonna keep posting though.