I'm totally behind on my gratitude journal. I might have to change daily to weekly or even monthly. It gets difficult to keep up daily, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful for all the daily blessings.
Husband bought me a EFX bracelet and I'm not sure if it's the bracelet working it's magic or if my shift in attitude. YOu can go to the link for more information on it. Either way, you can't convince me to take off the bracelet.
I've been sleep deprived this week because Faith is sick again and having a hard time sleeping. I figured since I can take naps during the day and husband can't, it's wiser to have me sleeping with her. Most morning I wake up exhausted, but after my afternoon nap, I've been feeling really good.
Also, as President of Faith's preschool, Campbell Parent Participation Preschool, I was part of the board member team conducting three seperate Orientations for the 4's, 3's, and 2's class. It's a while since I stood up in front of a bunch of adults and presented, it felt great! I forgot how much I missed it. I'm sure that is helping with the mood lately as well.
It was a tough day at my therapist visit, because she called me out on some stuff that I really did need to hear. However, you never one someone else to lay out your faults, especially if it's regarding your spouse or your child. She is correct no matter how hard it is to hear. I need to be more considerate and thoughtful of my husband. He is an extraordinary husband!
So here are my gratitude for this past week:
1. Having an amazing husband who spoils me and loves me unconditionally. I will work on not neglecting him and putting him first!
2. Thankful that Faith has amazing uncle and aunt. Thank you guys for baby sitting her this week so I can either rest, go to my doctor appointments, or orientation.
3. My EFX bracelet. Thank you husband for always being so considerate.
4. The incredible grandmas for loving Faith unconditionally even though she can be bossy at times.
5. My amazing Faith who ever cease to surprise me. Thank you for putting a smile on my face each and every day.
6. Amazing friends who are always there to lend an ear.
7. Finding a wonderful preschool for Faith. I'm looking forward to a great year!
8. Having a great board team at Faith's school. Everyone has been so wonderful and pitching in to help one another.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Daily Five- August 26 & 27th, 2010
Daily Five- August 26, 2010
1. Good night's rest
2. Cuddle time in the morning
3. Spend the day at Happy Hollow with the kids
4. Able to vacuum and mop the floors
5. Faith going to bed without a fight, it was probably because it was so late.
Daily Five- August 27, 2010
1. Another good night's rest
2. Faith's hilarious comment today: "Look at my teeny boobies, when I grow bigger, they will grow bigger too." I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but it's so funny
3. Had a chance to work at Faith preschool and send the time with one of the other parent and child who are great friends of ours. The girls but on a great puppet show about horses today. Also, I finally finished my job.
4. Spending the afternoon shopping with husband. We spent way too much on retail therapy, but it was so much fun. Of course, most of it was for Faith. I couldn't resist. Gap and Old Navy had huge sales and then another 30% off with the friends and family coupon. Also gave us a great opportunity to work out some of our issues lately. I need to work harder on showing him that he is appreciated!
5. Able to have some quiet time to take care of some work I had to caught up on.
Can you tell which daily fives I write the day of and which ones I'm recalling from memory?
1. Good night's rest
2. Cuddle time in the morning
3. Spend the day at Happy Hollow with the kids
4. Able to vacuum and mop the floors
5. Faith going to bed without a fight, it was probably because it was so late.
Daily Five- August 27, 2010
1. Another good night's rest
2. Faith's hilarious comment today: "Look at my teeny boobies, when I grow bigger, they will grow bigger too." I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but it's so funny
3. Had a chance to work at Faith preschool and send the time with one of the other parent and child who are great friends of ours. The girls but on a great puppet show about horses today. Also, I finally finished my job.
4. Spending the afternoon shopping with husband. We spent way too much on retail therapy, but it was so much fun. Of course, most of it was for Faith. I couldn't resist. Gap and Old Navy had huge sales and then another 30% off with the friends and family coupon. Also gave us a great opportunity to work out some of our issues lately. I need to work harder on showing him that he is appreciated!
5. Able to have some quiet time to take care of some work I had to caught up on.
Can you tell which daily fives I write the day of and which ones I'm recalling from memory?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Daily Fives-August 22,2010 thru August 25, 2010
Daily Fives-August 22, 2010
(Sunday)
1. My grandma's yummy spring rolls. She doesn't make it often, but it's totally worth the wait. I was close to my own record of 10 rolls. These rolls were pretty big so even though I had 7, I 'm going to count it as 10
2. Faith's first time miniature golfing. She had so much fun! Daddy even own a free game.
3. 2 hour nap
4. Crunchy fried noodles
5. Buying groceries to make the yummy cabbage salad.
Chinese Cabbage Salad
1 med. head cabbage
4 stalks green onions, slivered
2 pksg "nissen" Ramen (crushed)
4 Tbsp chopped almonds
4 Tbsp sesame seeds
Dressing:
1/4 C salad oil
1/4 C sesame oil
4 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp accent
"accent" means Ajinomoto which means MSG! I don't usually use it...I substitute 1/2 tsp white pepper. It doesn't seem to make much difference.
Add Ramen to salad and dressing just before serving.
Daily Fives-August 23, 2010
1. Thank you Uncle Loi for coming over and playing with Faith so I can rest
2. Wii Fit, Thanks Nancy, this is my exercise now, I know, it's sad
3. Yummy Sweet Tomatoes. We love this place!
4. Playing at the park in the dark. Love summer nights.
5. Getting to sleep by myself
Daily Fives-August 24, 2010
1. Faith sleeping through the night with daddy
2. Wonderful cuddle time with Faith this morning. I love our cuddle time.
3. Had a good physical therapist appointment. He did some tractions on my neck and relieved some of the neck pain
4. Great bike ride with Faith and daddy
5. Got to finally make the yummy cabbage salad. Thanks, Tania!
Daily Fives-August 25, 2010
1. Got to see my therapist today. It's always great to talk it out with her. She helps me not take everything and myself too seriously. She also gives me great ideas.
2. Able to get some work done at Faith's preschool today. It was nice to have the school to ourselves. Faith and I enjoy the peace and quiet.
3. Was able to get some relief from this crazy heat at one of our friends house.
4. Finally did a Costco run
5. Got to spend quality time at the park with Faith. Love summer nights. We were playing in the dark.
(Sunday)
1. My grandma's yummy spring rolls. She doesn't make it often, but it's totally worth the wait. I was close to my own record of 10 rolls. These rolls were pretty big so even though I had 7, I 'm going to count it as 10
2. Faith's first time miniature golfing. She had so much fun! Daddy even own a free game.
3. 2 hour nap
4. Crunchy fried noodles
5. Buying groceries to make the yummy cabbage salad.
Chinese Cabbage Salad
1 med. head cabbage
4 stalks green onions, slivered
2 pksg "nissen" Ramen (crushed)
4 Tbsp chopped almonds
4 Tbsp sesame seeds
Dressing:
1/4 C salad oil
1/4 C sesame oil
4 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp accent
"accent" means Ajinomoto which means MSG! I don't usually use it...I substitute 1/2 tsp white pepper. It doesn't seem to make much difference.
Add Ramen to salad and dressing just before serving.
Daily Fives-August 23, 2010
1. Thank you Uncle Loi for coming over and playing with Faith so I can rest
2. Wii Fit, Thanks Nancy, this is my exercise now, I know, it's sad
3. Yummy Sweet Tomatoes. We love this place!
4. Playing at the park in the dark. Love summer nights.
5. Getting to sleep by myself
Daily Fives-August 24, 2010
1. Faith sleeping through the night with daddy
2. Wonderful cuddle time with Faith this morning. I love our cuddle time.
3. Had a good physical therapist appointment. He did some tractions on my neck and relieved some of the neck pain
4. Great bike ride with Faith and daddy
5. Got to finally make the yummy cabbage salad. Thanks, Tania!
Daily Fives-August 25, 2010
1. Got to see my therapist today. It's always great to talk it out with her. She helps me not take everything and myself too seriously. She also gives me great ideas.
2. Able to get some work done at Faith's preschool today. It was nice to have the school to ourselves. Faith and I enjoy the peace and quiet.
3. Was able to get some relief from this crazy heat at one of our friends house.
4. Finally did a Costco run
5. Got to spend quality time at the park with Faith. Love summer nights. We were playing in the dark.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Daily Five-August 21, 2010
Daily Five-August 21, 2010
1. Went to my amazing acupuncturist and he was able to get rid my migrane.
2. Having quiet time after my appointment with my Jamba Juice waiting for Faith and husband to pick me up.
3. Celebrating a baby shower with a couple from high school. They are the last couple in our high school group of friends to have a baby. They are going to be great parents.
4. Was able to have quality adult conversation.
5. Spent some quality time with husband,
1. Went to my amazing acupuncturist and he was able to get rid my migrane.
2. Having quiet time after my appointment with my Jamba Juice waiting for Faith and husband to pick me up.
3. Celebrating a baby shower with a couple from high school. They are the last couple in our high school group of friends to have a baby. They are going to be great parents.
4. Was able to have quality adult conversation.
5. Spent some quality time with husband,
Friday, August 20, 2010
Our Charts
We created a few charts the last two days. I've been meaning to do a fancy one with actual photographs of her doing all these actions, but have never found the time to do it. So, finally this morning, I just drew it by hand. I'll have to post the pictures once I download them.
We make a Mommy Wellness Chart to encourage her to sleep with daddy and let me sleep on my own so I can get some quality rest. I drew a picture of myself and told her I was only at about 40% and so I highlighted 40% of my body in green highlight. I told her that each time that I'm get a great night sleep on my own, we can color in a strip of my picture. When I'm completely green and at 100%, then I can sleep with her again. She was really excited to color a portion of it this morning.
The next chart was a Morning Chart. It's everything that she has to do get herself ready for the day. We brainstormed all the task and then I drew boxes in the different colors of the rainbow for each task. I also numbered all boxes in order, drew an illustration, and wrote the description. 1. Go Potty 2. Wash face and hands 3. Brush Teeth 4. Change Clothes 5. Eat Breakfast
Our last chart was a Bedtime Chart. 1. Take a bath 2. Drink milk 3. Take vitamins 4. Brush and Floss Teeth 5. Bedtime Stories 6. Go to sleep
We'll see how helpful these charts are going to be.
We make a Mommy Wellness Chart to encourage her to sleep with daddy and let me sleep on my own so I can get some quality rest. I drew a picture of myself and told her I was only at about 40% and so I highlighted 40% of my body in green highlight. I told her that each time that I'm get a great night sleep on my own, we can color in a strip of my picture. When I'm completely green and at 100%, then I can sleep with her again. She was really excited to color a portion of it this morning.
The next chart was a Morning Chart. It's everything that she has to do get herself ready for the day. We brainstormed all the task and then I drew boxes in the different colors of the rainbow for each task. I also numbered all boxes in order, drew an illustration, and wrote the description. 1. Go Potty 2. Wash face and hands 3. Brush Teeth 4. Change Clothes 5. Eat Breakfast
Our last chart was a Bedtime Chart. 1. Take a bath 2. Drink milk 3. Take vitamins 4. Brush and Floss Teeth 5. Bedtime Stories 6. Go to sleep
We'll see how helpful these charts are going to be.
Daily Five= August 20, 2010
Daily Five- August 20, 2010
1. Looking forward to Faith's future plans. "I'm going to go eat breakfast, grow up, and then go work for daddy so I can make money and he doesn't have to work."
2. Had a wonderful day out with Faith at Great America. I was finally able to catch the Snoopy on Ice show. It was so cute, she fell asleep in the car ride home and when I carried her into the house, she woke up briefly to ask, "Wasn't that show great?" Then she fell back asleep.
3. Got to have a secret date with the husband to watch "Eat Pray Love." The book was a lot better, but it was still great to spend time together.
4. Woke up in bed all by myself. Faith slept with daddy last night. Poor daddy didn't sleep was well as I did, but we're hoping it will get better.
5. Have dinner at my favorite restaurant and had my favorite noodle soup.
1. Looking forward to Faith's future plans. "I'm going to go eat breakfast, grow up, and then go work for daddy so I can make money and he doesn't have to work."
2. Had a wonderful day out with Faith at Great America. I was finally able to catch the Snoopy on Ice show. It was so cute, she fell asleep in the car ride home and when I carried her into the house, she woke up briefly to ask, "Wasn't that show great?" Then she fell back asleep.
3. Got to have a secret date with the husband to watch "Eat Pray Love." The book was a lot better, but it was still great to spend time together.
4. Woke up in bed all by myself. Faith slept with daddy last night. Poor daddy didn't sleep was well as I did, but we're hoping it will get better.
5. Have dinner at my favorite restaurant and had my favorite noodle soup.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Daily Five- August 19, 2010
Daily Five for August 19, 2010
1. Hoping our new idea for Faith to sleep with daddy will work so that I can finally get a good night's rest. We told her that daddy is the best monster/ghost buster in town and that all the monsters and ghost are afraid of him. That means daddy is the best sleeping companion. We also drew her a mommy wellness chart. I told her I was at 40% right now and I need to get my rest so that I can be 100% again and then she can sleep with me again. We made sure not to blame her for me not sleeping well and it was more that I get easily woken up by any sounds someone else makes or even when I roll over and bump her. Crossing our fingers this will work tonight.
2. Uncle L. coming over and spending the whole day with Faith so that I can go to my doctor appointment.
3. My mother in law making dinner tonight. It was delicious!
4. Spending quality time reading to Faith today.
5. Looking forward to my date with husband tomorrow. We're planning on seeing "Eat, Pray, Love." I'm so excited! I loved the book.
1. Hoping our new idea for Faith to sleep with daddy will work so that I can finally get a good night's rest. We told her that daddy is the best monster/ghost buster in town and that all the monsters and ghost are afraid of him. That means daddy is the best sleeping companion. We also drew her a mommy wellness chart. I told her I was at 40% right now and I need to get my rest so that I can be 100% again and then she can sleep with me again. We made sure not to blame her for me not sleeping well and it was more that I get easily woken up by any sounds someone else makes or even when I roll over and bump her. Crossing our fingers this will work tonight.
2. Uncle L. coming over and spending the whole day with Faith so that I can go to my doctor appointment.
3. My mother in law making dinner tonight. It was delicious!
4. Spending quality time reading to Faith today.
5. Looking forward to my date with husband tomorrow. We're planning on seeing "Eat, Pray, Love." I'm so excited! I loved the book.
Daiy Five- August 18, 2010
I'm going to finally start my daily five. My friends been listing her daily five on her Facebook page and I thought it's such a great idea, but have never got around to it. I think the right time is the present. I really need to be more positive and focus on my daily gratitude.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
1. Got to spend time with my best friend and her daughter. My best friend finally finished medical school and has a break this summer before she starts her job. It's been great to be able to hang out with each other so much. Her daughter is four months younger than Faith so it's great for the girls to see each other as well.
2. Had a good time at the mall. Got to eat Auntie Anne's pretzel, drink Jamba Juice, and even got two cute shirts for Faith at GAP.
3. Didn't have to cook dinner. We had plenty of leftover from Monday and Tuesday night. My mom also made her yummy vegeterian soup.
4. Actually made blueberry muffin from scratch. I know, I actually baked. Faith loves to help. She did a great job measuring, adding, and mixing all the ingredients. I thought it tasted good, but I think it's a little too healthy for the little girl. She likes the out of the box receipe.
5. Love the Wii Fit. Found a new game that I'm obssessed with. It was also a great workout. I was really sweating today.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
1. Got to spend time with my best friend and her daughter. My best friend finally finished medical school and has a break this summer before she starts her job. It's been great to be able to hang out with each other so much. Her daughter is four months younger than Faith so it's great for the girls to see each other as well.
2. Had a good time at the mall. Got to eat Auntie Anne's pretzel, drink Jamba Juice, and even got two cute shirts for Faith at GAP.
3. Didn't have to cook dinner. We had plenty of leftover from Monday and Tuesday night. My mom also made her yummy vegeterian soup.
4. Actually made blueberry muffin from scratch. I know, I actually baked. Faith loves to help. She did a great job measuring, adding, and mixing all the ingredients. I thought it tasted good, but I think it's a little too healthy for the little girl. She likes the out of the box receipe.
5. Love the Wii Fit. Found a new game that I'm obssessed with. It was also a great workout. I was really sweating today.
Great Parenting Tips, especially for Terrible Threes
From Taking the Lid off the Sun, Alexis had a great post called, "The Quirky Crystal Child – Ten parenting tips I’m learning the hard way"
It's the perfect post for the kind of week I've been having. The Terrible Threes SUCKS! What is going on with my well mannered, matured, delightful child? Faith's tantrums this week has been ridiculous. It's so bad on Monday, that my best friend even had nightmares all night that her darling daughter is going to turn into this scary three year old monster in 4 months. My best friend has never seen Faith act like this.
We were at Happy Hollow and Faith insisted in taking the seat belt off for herself on one of the rides. I am usually very good about giving her time to figure things out on her own. This time, I knew she wouldn't be able to do it because it was even hard for me when I first tried it. While she was screaming, I did step back for a second for her to try, but saw that she couldn't do it and had to intervene. I know this part shouldn't matter, but it did, we were the last person still on the ride and there was a line waiting to get on. I'm generally very aware of my environment and didn't want people waiting on us. I told Faith it was too difficult and I had to do it for her. And that was it.......screaming and kicking and yelling...and there was nothing I can say or do to calm her down. I can't remember now how I finally got her to calm down, but afterward, she was so stubborn that she requested to go home and not go on anymore rides.
That night we had a discussion about her tantrums and she told me that she "would have done it if only you gave me a couple more minutes." I asked her if I usually let her do things on her own that I know she is capable of doing and she answered yes. I told her I did it this time because it was just too difficult for her. Then she referred back to similar situation, "remember when M and I did it ourselves last time." This last time was a few months ago and it was on a similar ride at Gilroy Gardens. I had to remind her that it was a different situation and for her to remember that I did let her do it last time because I knew she would be able to do it. Anyways, we came up with a compromise that I would give her a few minutes uninterrupted time for her to try it on her own and then I would have to do it for her. I know, I will appreciate this independence and self assertion when she is older. I love that she has such self confidence that she thinks she can do it all, but it's the tantrums of either not being able to do it or not letting me help her that is driving me crazy.
There was another tantrum at the mall today because the sales lady told her the high heel shoes were too big for her and that she can hurt herself. I saw it coming this time, but I wasn't able to prevent it. I had to get in her face today and talked her down. I asked if she was embarrassed by the sale lady and that seem to stop her in her tracks. I then told her that she needs to ask to have a private conversation with me and we can work out a solution versus her just going crazy. I then explained to her that she might think she can walk in those shoes, but they really are too big for her and the sales lady just didn't want to see her get hurt. I asked her, if she would like, she can try it on again, but she would have to hold on to me if she wanted to walk in them. She agreed to my conditions and that seemed to work. Thank goodness.
I'm not good at handling tantrums because I get so easily riled up by her and it's so hard for me to get myself calm, let alone trying to calm her down. I found these great tips on Alexis' site and you can read the full description on her post.
Here's the 10 tips:
1 Get rhythm
Generally, I'm really good about this one, but there's always room for improvement.
2 Balance brain chemistry
We got to work on this one. Both she and her daddy are sugar addicts.
3 Meditate
I have to do this more.
4 Clean your own (energetic) messes
This one is a tough one for me. I know Faith picks up my negative energy.
5 Accentuate the positive
I think I'm going to use this blog for my daily gratitude journal.
6 Establish routines and predictability
I need help with this one. I personally get so bored with routines. I'm more of a "let's see what I'm in the mood for" kind of person.
7 Use leverage
I love her terminology for this one. We use leverage a lot.
8 Assign chores
Thank goodness Faith loves to help out. She can work on the cleaning up her toys chores, but otherwise she is such a great helper.
9 Stay neutral
Another tough one for me.
10 Have a sense of humor
Thank goodness for daddy. He has a great sense of humor and it's contagious. She's actually really funny too. I try too as well.
I'm going to work on these tips and see what happens.
It's the perfect post for the kind of week I've been having. The Terrible Threes SUCKS! What is going on with my well mannered, matured, delightful child? Faith's tantrums this week has been ridiculous. It's so bad on Monday, that my best friend even had nightmares all night that her darling daughter is going to turn into this scary three year old monster in 4 months. My best friend has never seen Faith act like this.
We were at Happy Hollow and Faith insisted in taking the seat belt off for herself on one of the rides. I am usually very good about giving her time to figure things out on her own. This time, I knew she wouldn't be able to do it because it was even hard for me when I first tried it. While she was screaming, I did step back for a second for her to try, but saw that she couldn't do it and had to intervene. I know this part shouldn't matter, but it did, we were the last person still on the ride and there was a line waiting to get on. I'm generally very aware of my environment and didn't want people waiting on us. I told Faith it was too difficult and I had to do it for her. And that was it.......screaming and kicking and yelling...and there was nothing I can say or do to calm her down. I can't remember now how I finally got her to calm down, but afterward, she was so stubborn that she requested to go home and not go on anymore rides.
That night we had a discussion about her tantrums and she told me that she "would have done it if only you gave me a couple more minutes." I asked her if I usually let her do things on her own that I know she is capable of doing and she answered yes. I told her I did it this time because it was just too difficult for her. Then she referred back to similar situation, "remember when M and I did it ourselves last time." This last time was a few months ago and it was on a similar ride at Gilroy Gardens. I had to remind her that it was a different situation and for her to remember that I did let her do it last time because I knew she would be able to do it. Anyways, we came up with a compromise that I would give her a few minutes uninterrupted time for her to try it on her own and then I would have to do it for her. I know, I will appreciate this independence and self assertion when she is older. I love that she has such self confidence that she thinks she can do it all, but it's the tantrums of either not being able to do it or not letting me help her that is driving me crazy.
There was another tantrum at the mall today because the sales lady told her the high heel shoes were too big for her and that she can hurt herself. I saw it coming this time, but I wasn't able to prevent it. I had to get in her face today and talked her down. I asked if she was embarrassed by the sale lady and that seem to stop her in her tracks. I then told her that she needs to ask to have a private conversation with me and we can work out a solution versus her just going crazy. I then explained to her that she might think she can walk in those shoes, but they really are too big for her and the sales lady just didn't want to see her get hurt. I asked her, if she would like, she can try it on again, but she would have to hold on to me if she wanted to walk in them. She agreed to my conditions and that seemed to work. Thank goodness.
I'm not good at handling tantrums because I get so easily riled up by her and it's so hard for me to get myself calm, let alone trying to calm her down. I found these great tips on Alexis' site and you can read the full description on her post.
Here's the 10 tips:
1 Get rhythm
Generally, I'm really good about this one, but there's always room for improvement.
2 Balance brain chemistry
We got to work on this one. Both she and her daddy are sugar addicts.
3 Meditate
I have to do this more.
4 Clean your own (energetic) messes
This one is a tough one for me. I know Faith picks up my negative energy.
5 Accentuate the positive
I think I'm going to use this blog for my daily gratitude journal.
6 Establish routines and predictability
I need help with this one. I personally get so bored with routines. I'm more of a "let's see what I'm in the mood for" kind of person.
7 Use leverage
I love her terminology for this one. We use leverage a lot.
8 Assign chores
Thank goodness Faith loves to help out. She can work on the cleaning up her toys chores, but otherwise she is such a great helper.
9 Stay neutral
Another tough one for me.
10 Have a sense of humor
Thank goodness for daddy. He has a great sense of humor and it's contagious. She's actually really funny too. I try too as well.
I'm going to work on these tips and see what happens.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Need to get back on Track
I'm blogging again, you know what that means, we've had a rough month. The good thing this time is that I am aware of most of the catalyst for it:
1. Traveling- We went to Lake Tahoe with five other families. It was a great trip, but I'm sure it was overwhelming being surrounded by so many people all the time. The great thing was that Faith was very self-aware the whole trip and would carve out quiet time for herself in our room. When it got to noisy or she just needed a break from everyone, she simply asked to have "quiet time" in her room. We brought her V-Reader, with the Toy Story Game, her Toy Story figures, her Magna Tiles, and of course, TEDDY! Can you guess what her obsession is at the moment? It's been non stop Toy Story everything since we got to watch the sneak preview of Toy Story 3 at Pixar. Thanks again, Uncle Sean!
After the four day weekend trip to Tahoe, we had two days break before we were off to Kauai for a wedding. Generally, she loves travel and is a great traveler, however, she caught a bug on our last day in Tahoe, and had a fever that didn't break until the morning we woke up for Hawaii. That meant a rough start to our Hawaiian vacation. The time difference in Hawaii didn't help our already extremely late bed time. She didn't sleep until 10pm Hawaiian time, which is 1am our time. We're still trying to adjust back. It's been almost a month now. Last night she went to be at 11:30pm, sounds late, huh? But, that's progress for us.
2. Illness- Like I mentioned in number 1, she got sick. It's never pleasant when Faith is sick. She has difficulties falling asleep and then staying asleep. Generally when she is sick we have to drive her to put her to bed. She is so uncomfortable that there is nothing we can do to settle her down. Music doesn't work. She doesn't like to be touch, let alone caress when she trying to sleep. Having daddy walk her around on his shoulder doesn't work anymore. She would wake up constantly throughout the night because she can't breathe. All the interrupted sleep disrupts our schedule so she and I are sleeping throughout the day.
3. Bye Bye Binky- Probably not a smart move on our part, but the opportunity arise and we had to run with it. Trust me, I've been very tempted to return it her. So, we've been preparing her for months that the Binky Fairy is going to come soon and that she is going to take away all of Faith's binkies and in return give her a cool present. Yup, we have to bribe our daughter. Things like loosing them, giving them to the babies, or cutting the binkie (making it ineffective) doesn't work on our child because she will just tell you to go to the store and purchase more. We walked her through the whole process with the Binky Fairy and told her that the Binky Fairy thought she was ready since she is a big girl now. We told her stories about our experiences with the Binky Fairy. We even practice how the process when work. She pretended to suck on her binky, the Binky Fairy comes takes the binky, and then gives her a gift. We played this game every day for many weeks. We always told her that she had some say over when she was ready. We wanted her to feel like she has some control over the situation. She also got to request a specific gift from the Binky Fairy. Faith wanted a Lotso Huggin Bear. It smells like Strawberries and he has all these expressions when you press his hands, feet, and tummy. It was in the closet and ready whenever she was ready. Needless to say, she never felt she was ready and became more possessive with the binky and even stressed that it would be taken away at any moment. We almost gave up the idea of taking it away because apparently she wasn't ready. Until it all just happened, we were on the plane on our way home from Hawaii. For some reason, she only had the one in her mouth because I packed the rest in our suitcases when already boarded the plane. My intentions were to take them out and put them in my purse, but in the process of getting everything to the airport, I forgot. At the airport she had a lollipop, I got these yummy organic lollipop in Hawaii that was so good, and some how lost the one and only binky. We didn't realize this until the plane was about to take off. I wanted her to suck on it so her ears wouldn't pop. Oh crap, where is it? It's going to be a long flight, so we thought, but of course, once again she surprised us. She cried for the first ten minutes or so, I was seriously sweating. I thought it was going to be like this the whole flight. I offered her gum for the first time because I really didn't want her ears to pop. I'm sure with the current situation, that would just send her over the top. The gum did help because it was a new and cool experience. She was definitely a big girl now, chewing gum. The rest of the flight was pleasant and she didn't think about it until we landed. The opportunity arise, so we had to take it right? We told her the Binky Fairy thought she was ready and that the Binky Fairy would pick up all her binkies in Hawaii and bring Faith her gift when we got home. It was an hour drive from the airport back to our house. Faith was really excited to see Lotso, I even got it on film. However, like everything else with her, it only worked for a day. The following day, she told me to take Lotso away and sell him because she "hates" him and didn't want the Binky Fairy to take her binky yet. Surprisingly, she never asked the Binky Fairy to bring back her binky. Going to bed, staying asleep, and naps have been rough without the binky. It's partially our fault, we've cheated and been driving her a lot to help her sleep. So, it's natural for her to think that it's the only way she can settle herself down. We had to break this habit because we can't drive her every night. Needless to say, it's been a rough month, but I think we're making very small daily progress.
4. Mommy's stress, anxiety,and pain. Faith picks up on my moods very easily. I guess it's not too hard, because I'm not very good at hiding it. This vicious cycle happens every time there is a prolonged period of sleep deprivation. I do not do well when I am sleep deprived!!! I'm moody, depressed, tired, unpleasant, and the list goes on. Faith doesn't sleep well, causing me to not sleeping, causing stress, causing her to stress from my stress, which causes her not to sleep well. I don't think I've slept more than 4 straight uninterrupted hours for the past few months. The lack of sleep is creating a lot of anxiety and not allowing my body to replenish itself and ultimately making me more sensitive to my neck, shoulder, and back pain. I've also had at least 2 headaches/migraine weekly. This discomfort makes it hard for me to get to sleep and stay asleep. This is why I'm up writing this post. Woke up again around 4am. When I'm up, she doesn't sleep soundly, she senses when I'm away and wakes up calling for me. She also picks up on the tension when we're sleep and is restless. We've tried getting her out of our room again only so I can sleep better because I can't make myself comfortable when I try to lay still as not to wake her. This stillness makes me uncomfortable which ends up waking her. I've also had a lot going on this summer. I haven't given her the attention she needs and wants. There's always a change in behavior when this happens. She has been more defiant, aggressive, and whiny because of it.
Okay, so enough of that....What are we going to do about all this?
1. STOP THE CYCLE! Since, she is the kid and I'm the adult that can more easily make changes, it will start with ME! I will carve out more time for her. I will minimize, if not eliminate the stresses. I need to workout and do my exercises so my neck can heal. Thank you, Larry for all your help, sorry, I'm a terrible patient. Self care, thinking of trying out Reiki massage. Need to make another appointment with my therapist to get perspective. Need to return to my mommy group with Mika for support.
2. Increase Faith's activity. We're going to start preschool again next month so I think that will help a lot. She needs more structure that I'm not providing at the moment. I'm also thinking of signing her up for Ballet and swimming classes.
3. Improve our diet. I went thorough our kitchen last week and throw away most of the junk food. We need to be more conscientious in what we purchase. I'm sure her diet is not helping with her sensitivity. I'm too embarrassed to even mention all the crap she eats. That will change. It already is starting to change.
4. Continue to research more strategies. I've found two new great blogs for Highly Sensitive Children, Raising a Sensitive Child and Taking the Lid of the Sun. There are some great information on it. I'm still not completely comfortable with the "Indigo" and "Crystal" terminology and some of my ideas are a little new to me, but I'm staying open to it. Also, there is no room for judging, this is someones experience and all they are doing is sharing. It's up to you what you want to take away from it. This link is also great with practical parenting strategies on the Family Education website.
1. Traveling- We went to Lake Tahoe with five other families. It was a great trip, but I'm sure it was overwhelming being surrounded by so many people all the time. The great thing was that Faith was very self-aware the whole trip and would carve out quiet time for herself in our room. When it got to noisy or she just needed a break from everyone, she simply asked to have "quiet time" in her room. We brought her V-Reader, with the Toy Story Game, her Toy Story figures, her Magna Tiles, and of course, TEDDY! Can you guess what her obsession is at the moment? It's been non stop Toy Story everything since we got to watch the sneak preview of Toy Story 3 at Pixar. Thanks again, Uncle Sean!
After the four day weekend trip to Tahoe, we had two days break before we were off to Kauai for a wedding. Generally, she loves travel and is a great traveler, however, she caught a bug on our last day in Tahoe, and had a fever that didn't break until the morning we woke up for Hawaii. That meant a rough start to our Hawaiian vacation. The time difference in Hawaii didn't help our already extremely late bed time. She didn't sleep until 10pm Hawaiian time, which is 1am our time. We're still trying to adjust back. It's been almost a month now. Last night she went to be at 11:30pm, sounds late, huh? But, that's progress for us.
2. Illness- Like I mentioned in number 1, she got sick. It's never pleasant when Faith is sick. She has difficulties falling asleep and then staying asleep. Generally when she is sick we have to drive her to put her to bed. She is so uncomfortable that there is nothing we can do to settle her down. Music doesn't work. She doesn't like to be touch, let alone caress when she trying to sleep. Having daddy walk her around on his shoulder doesn't work anymore. She would wake up constantly throughout the night because she can't breathe. All the interrupted sleep disrupts our schedule so she and I are sleeping throughout the day.
3. Bye Bye Binky- Probably not a smart move on our part, but the opportunity arise and we had to run with it. Trust me, I've been very tempted to return it her. So, we've been preparing her for months that the Binky Fairy is going to come soon and that she is going to take away all of Faith's binkies and in return give her a cool present. Yup, we have to bribe our daughter. Things like loosing them, giving them to the babies, or cutting the binkie (making it ineffective) doesn't work on our child because she will just tell you to go to the store and purchase more. We walked her through the whole process with the Binky Fairy and told her that the Binky Fairy thought she was ready since she is a big girl now. We told her stories about our experiences with the Binky Fairy. We even practice how the process when work. She pretended to suck on her binky, the Binky Fairy comes takes the binky, and then gives her a gift. We played this game every day for many weeks. We always told her that she had some say over when she was ready. We wanted her to feel like she has some control over the situation. She also got to request a specific gift from the Binky Fairy. Faith wanted a Lotso Huggin Bear. It smells like Strawberries and he has all these expressions when you press his hands, feet, and tummy. It was in the closet and ready whenever she was ready. Needless to say, she never felt she was ready and became more possessive with the binky and even stressed that it would be taken away at any moment. We almost gave up the idea of taking it away because apparently she wasn't ready. Until it all just happened, we were on the plane on our way home from Hawaii. For some reason, she only had the one in her mouth because I packed the rest in our suitcases when already boarded the plane. My intentions were to take them out and put them in my purse, but in the process of getting everything to the airport, I forgot. At the airport she had a lollipop, I got these yummy organic lollipop in Hawaii that was so good, and some how lost the one and only binky. We didn't realize this until the plane was about to take off. I wanted her to suck on it so her ears wouldn't pop. Oh crap, where is it? It's going to be a long flight, so we thought, but of course, once again she surprised us. She cried for the first ten minutes or so, I was seriously sweating. I thought it was going to be like this the whole flight. I offered her gum for the first time because I really didn't want her ears to pop. I'm sure with the current situation, that would just send her over the top. The gum did help because it was a new and cool experience. She was definitely a big girl now, chewing gum. The rest of the flight was pleasant and she didn't think about it until we landed. The opportunity arise, so we had to take it right? We told her the Binky Fairy thought she was ready and that the Binky Fairy would pick up all her binkies in Hawaii and bring Faith her gift when we got home. It was an hour drive from the airport back to our house. Faith was really excited to see Lotso, I even got it on film. However, like everything else with her, it only worked for a day. The following day, she told me to take Lotso away and sell him because she "hates" him and didn't want the Binky Fairy to take her binky yet. Surprisingly, she never asked the Binky Fairy to bring back her binky. Going to bed, staying asleep, and naps have been rough without the binky. It's partially our fault, we've cheated and been driving her a lot to help her sleep. So, it's natural for her to think that it's the only way she can settle herself down. We had to break this habit because we can't drive her every night. Needless to say, it's been a rough month, but I think we're making very small daily progress.
4. Mommy's stress, anxiety,and pain. Faith picks up on my moods very easily. I guess it's not too hard, because I'm not very good at hiding it. This vicious cycle happens every time there is a prolonged period of sleep deprivation. I do not do well when I am sleep deprived!!! I'm moody, depressed, tired, unpleasant, and the list goes on. Faith doesn't sleep well, causing me to not sleeping, causing stress, causing her to stress from my stress, which causes her not to sleep well. I don't think I've slept more than 4 straight uninterrupted hours for the past few months. The lack of sleep is creating a lot of anxiety and not allowing my body to replenish itself and ultimately making me more sensitive to my neck, shoulder, and back pain. I've also had at least 2 headaches/migraine weekly. This discomfort makes it hard for me to get to sleep and stay asleep. This is why I'm up writing this post. Woke up again around 4am. When I'm up, she doesn't sleep soundly, she senses when I'm away and wakes up calling for me. She also picks up on the tension when we're sleep and is restless. We've tried getting her out of our room again only so I can sleep better because I can't make myself comfortable when I try to lay still as not to wake her. This stillness makes me uncomfortable which ends up waking her. I've also had a lot going on this summer. I haven't given her the attention she needs and wants. There's always a change in behavior when this happens. She has been more defiant, aggressive, and whiny because of it.
Okay, so enough of that....What are we going to do about all this?
1. STOP THE CYCLE! Since, she is the kid and I'm the adult that can more easily make changes, it will start with ME! I will carve out more time for her. I will minimize, if not eliminate the stresses. I need to workout and do my exercises so my neck can heal. Thank you, Larry for all your help, sorry, I'm a terrible patient. Self care, thinking of trying out Reiki massage. Need to make another appointment with my therapist to get perspective. Need to return to my mommy group with Mika for support.
2. Increase Faith's activity. We're going to start preschool again next month so I think that will help a lot. She needs more structure that I'm not providing at the moment. I'm also thinking of signing her up for Ballet and swimming classes.
3. Improve our diet. I went thorough our kitchen last week and throw away most of the junk food. We need to be more conscientious in what we purchase. I'm sure her diet is not helping with her sensitivity. I'm too embarrassed to even mention all the crap she eats. That will change. It already is starting to change.
4. Continue to research more strategies. I've found two new great blogs for Highly Sensitive Children, Raising a Sensitive Child and Taking the Lid of the Sun. There are some great information on it. I'm still not completely comfortable with the "Indigo" and "Crystal" terminology and some of my ideas are a little new to me, but I'm staying open to it. Also, there is no room for judging, this is someones experience and all they are doing is sharing. It's up to you what you want to take away from it. This link is also great with practical parenting strategies on the Family Education website.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Happy 3rd Birthday My Highly Sensitive Faith
New Addition:
I'm sure I wanted to write more when I initially wrote this post and that is why I haven't published it since June 28th. But, now re-reading it, I think it's great as is. The funny thing is so much has changed in the past month and I'll need to work to get us back to a more pleasant environment.
Original Post:
I can't believe I haven't posted a blog since February. The reason behind the procrastination of blogging is like I've said in my previous post of writing coming easier when I'm stress than when things are going well. Things have been great!
My G.E.R.D. is completely gone. We've all made lots of changes. Not to say that I've eliminated all of my stresses, but I'm not better equipped to handle it. I was seeing my therapist every other week until about a month ago. I was also participating in a discussion group for gifted children. It's led my Mika Gustavson. We also totally gave up with the sleeping arrangement and Faith is in the bed with me and my husband is in her room. It's all about just getting good sleep.
My state of mind has completely affect how Faith handles things. She has been incredible. I'm sure maturity is starting to be a factor as well. However, we have been working on a lot of different strategies that I've learn from my therapist and the discussion group. I've helped her to vocalize more with her feelings. We've also been identifying what we're feeling and what is the best method to deal with it. I've also stop over reacting. That one a big one. She used to just get wrapped up in my anxiety and then it became a vicious cycle, with each of us feeding of the other. We've also made time for cuddle time in the morning, right when she wakes up, and at night, right before she goes to sleep. We just lay in bed cuddling with each other and talking about the previous day or what we're going to do for the day. I saw a huge difference in her attitude when I have to take care of business, when I took the time out to give her uninterrupted quality time. This has help tremendously with the clinginess. She is also getting more mature and being able to play on her own, which helps tremendously for both of us.
My husband and I are contemplating about having a child because it's finally getting so much easier with Faith. She turned three yesterday on June 27th. She is growing up so fast and has matured so much from when I started this blog. She is still highly sensitive, but less so in the emotional outburst and more in her understanding and sensing others pain and emotions. I know I'm her mom and I'm a little bias, but she never cease to amaze me. She is so wise beyond her years some time that I do truly forget she is three. Sometimes I know I expect too much from her and I have to remind myself that she is still so young. It's easy to forget her age if you just sit and have a conversation with her. She is able to hold a true conversation with comments, suggestions, humor, and thoughtfulness.
I'm sure I wanted to write more when I initially wrote this post and that is why I haven't published it since June 28th. But, now re-reading it, I think it's great as is. The funny thing is so much has changed in the past month and I'll need to work to get us back to a more pleasant environment.
Original Post:
I can't believe I haven't posted a blog since February. The reason behind the procrastination of blogging is like I've said in my previous post of writing coming easier when I'm stress than when things are going well. Things have been great!
My G.E.R.D. is completely gone. We've all made lots of changes. Not to say that I've eliminated all of my stresses, but I'm not better equipped to handle it. I was seeing my therapist every other week until about a month ago. I was also participating in a discussion group for gifted children. It's led my Mika Gustavson. We also totally gave up with the sleeping arrangement and Faith is in the bed with me and my husband is in her room. It's all about just getting good sleep.
My state of mind has completely affect how Faith handles things. She has been incredible. I'm sure maturity is starting to be a factor as well. However, we have been working on a lot of different strategies that I've learn from my therapist and the discussion group. I've helped her to vocalize more with her feelings. We've also been identifying what we're feeling and what is the best method to deal with it. I've also stop over reacting. That one a big one. She used to just get wrapped up in my anxiety and then it became a vicious cycle, with each of us feeding of the other. We've also made time for cuddle time in the morning, right when she wakes up, and at night, right before she goes to sleep. We just lay in bed cuddling with each other and talking about the previous day or what we're going to do for the day. I saw a huge difference in her attitude when I have to take care of business, when I took the time out to give her uninterrupted quality time. This has help tremendously with the clinginess. She is also getting more mature and being able to play on her own, which helps tremendously for both of us.
My husband and I are contemplating about having a child because it's finally getting so much easier with Faith. She turned three yesterday on June 27th. She is growing up so fast and has matured so much from when I started this blog. She is still highly sensitive, but less so in the emotional outburst and more in her understanding and sensing others pain and emotions. I know I'm her mom and I'm a little bias, but she never cease to amaze me. She is so wise beyond her years some time that I do truly forget she is three. Sometimes I know I expect too much from her and I have to remind myself that she is still so young. It's easy to forget her age if you just sit and have a conversation with her. She is able to hold a true conversation with comments, suggestions, humor, and thoughtfulness.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Websites with great resources
I'm working on so many posts right now and it just seems like I never have the time to finish them. I over think everything before I actually publish the post so it takes me so much time to get them out. I'm working on the post of strategies we're trying with Faith that has been working really well and I will get that one posted as quickly as I can. Here is a list of website I've been using to get helpful information on high sensitivity for kids and adults:
Raising Smart Girls
I got a few of these site from Raising Smart Girls and it's a lot more organized on her site. For a more expansive list, especially on giftedness, check out her site. These are the ones I usually refer to.
Mika Gustavson, MFT ¦ Adult, Child and Family Therapy
High Sensitivity
Dr. Ted Zeff
The Highly Sensitive Person Publishing Company
Jenna Avery's Art of Sensitive Living Community Forum
About.com:Gifted Children
Hoagie's Gifted Education Page
Education.com: Raising a Sensitive Child
Mothering.com: Parenting a Highly Sensitive Child
Sensory Processing Disorder
altmd.com: private or public school for the highly sensitive child?
They are not in any order.
Raising Smart Girls
I got a few of these site from Raising Smart Girls and it's a lot more organized on her site. For a more expansive list, especially on giftedness, check out her site. These are the ones I usually refer to.
Mika Gustavson, MFT ¦ Adult, Child and Family Therapy
High Sensitivity
Dr. Ted Zeff
The Highly Sensitive Person Publishing Company
Jenna Avery's Art of Sensitive Living Community Forum
About.com:Gifted Children
Hoagie's Gifted Education Page
Education.com: Raising a Sensitive Child
Mothering.com: Parenting a Highly Sensitive Child
Sensory Processing Disorder
altmd.com: private or public school for the highly sensitive child?
They are not in any order.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
What a sweet and considerate little girl
Even though Faith has been with grandma a lot this week because I've had so many doctor appointments, she has been so great. All week, she only got upset once yesterday when I had to leave really early for the Stanford appointment and it was only because she woke up too early.
She is also wonderful with daddy this week. No struggles with bath time. Generally she wants me to go up with her and then I have to tell her that we're having a bath contest to see who would finish first, before she would let me go without a tantrum. They have been having so much fun. I love watching them interact. No one on this earth makes her laugh the way he does. She is daddy's little girl and she knows it too.
Today we had music class with one of our other friend. She was really excited because we haven't seen our friend in awhile. Faith treats M as a little sister. They are only four months apart, but Faith has always taken care of her. I used to baby sit M when she was a baby.
We went to pick up M at her daycare. It's the same daycare that Faith went to for four months. M is in a different room now, but we had a chance to visit their old room and Faith's favorite teacher was there. It was nice for Faith to see her teacher.
The girls were so excited to see each other. I love how they run into each other arms. Now they are talking, it's so cute to see how they interact with each other. M was telling us that she did in school today, and then Faith said, "then we picked you up," then M said, "yes, Faith." They are adorable.
Faith has always been so good at sharing her mommy with M. M's mommy calls me her second mom. Both girls sat on my lap during music class because M wants to do everything that Faith does. They are really like sister. We call them twins. M's daddy was sitting all by himself since both girls were on my lap. Faith got up and went to sit next to him. Then during music class when the teacher brought out the balls for one of our song, she grabbed three balls, one for me, one for M, and one for M's daddy. What a considerate little girl. After we got our balls, she went back for balls for herself. Then during the free time music session where the teacher dumps out a bunch for different instruments for the kids to just play, Faith saw that M's daddy didn't have an instrument and she went and grabbed one and handed it to him. She is so thoughtful and I'm so proud of her.
Ever since baby was a baby she has always been so great with sharing her food. At six months, she would feed us food. Then as she got older, she wouldn't eat her food until she handed one out to everyone else. Every parent works with their kids on sharing, but I never had to work too hard on it. She is also wonderful with other kids when they come over our house to play, she never has an issue with anyone playing with her toys, except when she is actually playing with it and they yank it out of her hands.
Everyone says she gets this from me and I'm so happy that is so kind and considerate, but I worry that she is going to be too much like me. I don't want her to always take care of other people without tending to her needs first. I definitely don't want her to be selfish, but being selfless isn't good either. It's just like the rules on the airplane, put on your air mask first before you put anyone else's on. I want her to always take care of herself first and then she can be considerate of everyone else. It's been a hard lesson for me to learn. I'm getting better at taking care of myself, but I should be doing it more.
She is also wonderful with daddy this week. No struggles with bath time. Generally she wants me to go up with her and then I have to tell her that we're having a bath contest to see who would finish first, before she would let me go without a tantrum. They have been having so much fun. I love watching them interact. No one on this earth makes her laugh the way he does. She is daddy's little girl and she knows it too.
Today we had music class with one of our other friend. She was really excited because we haven't seen our friend in awhile. Faith treats M as a little sister. They are only four months apart, but Faith has always taken care of her. I used to baby sit M when she was a baby.
We went to pick up M at her daycare. It's the same daycare that Faith went to for four months. M is in a different room now, but we had a chance to visit their old room and Faith's favorite teacher was there. It was nice for Faith to see her teacher.
The girls were so excited to see each other. I love how they run into each other arms. Now they are talking, it's so cute to see how they interact with each other. M was telling us that she did in school today, and then Faith said, "then we picked you up," then M said, "yes, Faith." They are adorable.
Faith has always been so good at sharing her mommy with M. M's mommy calls me her second mom. Both girls sat on my lap during music class because M wants to do everything that Faith does. They are really like sister. We call them twins. M's daddy was sitting all by himself since both girls were on my lap. Faith got up and went to sit next to him. Then during music class when the teacher brought out the balls for one of our song, she grabbed three balls, one for me, one for M, and one for M's daddy. What a considerate little girl. After we got our balls, she went back for balls for herself. Then during the free time music session where the teacher dumps out a bunch for different instruments for the kids to just play, Faith saw that M's daddy didn't have an instrument and she went and grabbed one and handed it to him. She is so thoughtful and I'm so proud of her.
Ever since baby was a baby she has always been so great with sharing her food. At six months, she would feed us food. Then as she got older, she wouldn't eat her food until she handed one out to everyone else. Every parent works with their kids on sharing, but I never had to work too hard on it. She is also wonderful with other kids when they come over our house to play, she never has an issue with anyone playing with her toys, except when she is actually playing with it and they yank it out of her hands.
Everyone says she gets this from me and I'm so happy that is so kind and considerate, but I worry that she is going to be too much like me. I don't want her to always take care of other people without tending to her needs first. I definitely don't want her to be selfish, but being selfless isn't good either. It's just like the rules on the airplane, put on your air mask first before you put anyone else's on. I want her to always take care of herself first and then she can be considerate of everyone else. It's been a hard lesson for me to learn. I'm getting better at taking care of myself, but I should be doing it more.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
My Independent Faith
So proud of my baby today! She did such a great job at preschool. It was our first official day at our parent participation preschool. February is dinosaur themed and Faith loves dinosaurs so she was very excited to go to school today.
However, early mornings are always hard for us because Faith usually sleeps late. For the last few days she slept at midnight, so yesterday I had to interrupt her nap so that she would sleep earlier last night. She slept at 11pm last night, but it would have been earlier if she didn't fall asleep for about 10 minutes on the way home from great grandma's house. Although it was only a 10 minutes nap, it kept her up for another five hours. I'm so jealous of these other mommies when I hear that their kid can wake up from a nap at 5pm and still go down at 8pm. You have to always add about six hours on to whenever Faith wakes up from her nap. Anyways, it took her awhile to get up this morning which gave me some time to load the car and get her dvd player ready. She usually has breakfast with the tv on. It helps her relax and eases her into the day. Since I was rushing her this morning, I wanted to make it was relaxing as possible for her.
Since I wanted to give her the extra few minutes of sleep this morning, she had to have her breakfast in the car. She usually doesn't eat much this way, but it's better than rushing her while she eats at home and then having to deal with a tantrum because we have to stop watching to leave.
She was very excited when we got to school and she saw two dinosaurs at the door. She loves dinosaurs, especially herbivores, because of Dinosaur Train on PBS. It's a great program and there's a great herbivore song called, Hungry Hungry Herbivore. She loves singing the song and asking for a leafwich.
When we got it, there were dinosaur activities everywhere. She went straight to a sorting game and started sorting it into ice tray using tongs. Afterward we did some art using foam stickers. She wanted a picture of a herbivore, so I gave her a triceratops. Then she grab the plants so the triceratops can eat. She was also excited when the teacher showed her, her cubbie so that she can store her pictures and personal belongings.
After she put her picture into her cubbie, she ran over to her favorite room, the dramatic play area. The school has this cool loft that has office equipment. She always say she is like daddy because daddy's office is upstairs in the loft too. Another favorite activity is for us to dress up like Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. They have cowboy hats and the horse on the stick. She loves to ride on the horse, and then lift and swing her hat and yell, "Yeeeha!"
Then she wanted to go outside and play dinosaur excavation. She had a great time digging for the dinosaur bones. Five minutes is about her limit with most activities. Then we moved to another art project. She made two dinosaurs, a triceratops and a t-rex with glue and glitter, rice, sand, and noodle. After finishing both activities she ran to the sand pit and took off her crocs to play in the sand. She used to hate the sand before we went to Hawaii, but now she loves playing it in as long as her shoes are off. She doesn't like the rubbing of the sand on her feet when her shoes are on. I love that she doesn't care about playing in the sand. Also I'm getting better at letting her just enjoy herself without the need of brushing off sand on her. Yeah, I still need to work on the getting dirty.
She was excited when the circle time bell rang. She loves circle time, always has. Although this is our first formal preschool, she has a lot of experience with circle/story time. We started doing music class when she was six months. She also does gym class. We try to make story time every Wednesday at our public library. We have also did a community class once a week for an hour and for a few months this past summer, we did preschool at our house with a couple of our mommy group friends.
The kids got to wear dinosaurs mask and march to "We are the Dinosaurs." Faith didn't wear it on her face, but she did put it on her head. The teacher brought out different types of bones for the kids. She didn't care for the coyote skull, but she liked the smaller bones.
Then it was snack time. The snack mom was so clever, she cut dinosaur shaped sandwiches (bread, turkey, and cheese). I'm going to have to buy some more cookie cutters. Such a cute idea. Although Faith only ate the cheese and turkey.
After snack, I wanted to prepare Faith because although it was our first official day, I had bathroom duty. I was a little concerned that she wouldn't want to play on her own while I was cleaning the bathrooms, but I didn't have to worry I think since this is our third time here and she knows exactly where I'm at, if she needs me, she was comfortable to go explore on her own.
I'm so proud of my little girl!
She played in the areas when she could still check in on me for awhile and then she got bored and asked to go outside on her own. Of course, I enthusiastically said yes. After I finished, I went outside and saw her playing happily with the teacher and a few other kids. They were taking turns walking up a ramp. I can't even express how happy I am to see her so independent and socialize with others.
This parent participation preschool is such a great idea and I really do wished we started earlier. It's helping both of us, because I can relax a lot more as well because all the parents are wonderful at our class. They are very good about making sure their child plays gently and take turns. That is another issue for us. Most kids are a lot more aggressive than Faith and she will never fight back. She is getting better at not letting others grab things from her. We used to have to give her pep talks about telling other kids no and pulling back if people grab her toys.
Faith got to ring the bell for our second circle time. She was very excited about that as well. After listening to the teacher read and singing our goodbye song, she even ran up to give the teacher a hug.
The best part is that she doesn't want to leave. That's such a great sign. I let her run outside for awhile with the other kids and one of the daddy. She had a great time although she fell and got her stocking dirty. She was about to stress over the dirty, but I had to talk her and myself down. "It's just dirt, it's okay, we can wash it when we get home."
What a great day we had! I'm also so proud of her for being such a big girl when I have to go to my physical therapist/therapist/acupuncturist/doctor appointments. She knows and accept who will be home with her, gives me a hug and a kiss, and waves bye mommy, without shedding any tears. Well according to her, she said, "sometimes I still cry." What a big girl!
However, early mornings are always hard for us because Faith usually sleeps late. For the last few days she slept at midnight, so yesterday I had to interrupt her nap so that she would sleep earlier last night. She slept at 11pm last night, but it would have been earlier if she didn't fall asleep for about 10 minutes on the way home from great grandma's house. Although it was only a 10 minutes nap, it kept her up for another five hours. I'm so jealous of these other mommies when I hear that their kid can wake up from a nap at 5pm and still go down at 8pm. You have to always add about six hours on to whenever Faith wakes up from her nap. Anyways, it took her awhile to get up this morning which gave me some time to load the car and get her dvd player ready. She usually has breakfast with the tv on. It helps her relax and eases her into the day. Since I was rushing her this morning, I wanted to make it was relaxing as possible for her.
Since I wanted to give her the extra few minutes of sleep this morning, she had to have her breakfast in the car. She usually doesn't eat much this way, but it's better than rushing her while she eats at home and then having to deal with a tantrum because we have to stop watching to leave.
She was very excited when we got to school and she saw two dinosaurs at the door. She loves dinosaurs, especially herbivores, because of Dinosaur Train on PBS. It's a great program and there's a great herbivore song called, Hungry Hungry Herbivore. She loves singing the song and asking for a leafwich.
When we got it, there were dinosaur activities everywhere. She went straight to a sorting game and started sorting it into ice tray using tongs. Afterward we did some art using foam stickers. She wanted a picture of a herbivore, so I gave her a triceratops. Then she grab the plants so the triceratops can eat. She was also excited when the teacher showed her, her cubbie so that she can store her pictures and personal belongings.
After she put her picture into her cubbie, she ran over to her favorite room, the dramatic play area. The school has this cool loft that has office equipment. She always say she is like daddy because daddy's office is upstairs in the loft too. Another favorite activity is for us to dress up like Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. They have cowboy hats and the horse on the stick. She loves to ride on the horse, and then lift and swing her hat and yell, "Yeeeha!"
Then she wanted to go outside and play dinosaur excavation. She had a great time digging for the dinosaur bones. Five minutes is about her limit with most activities. Then we moved to another art project. She made two dinosaurs, a triceratops and a t-rex with glue and glitter, rice, sand, and noodle. After finishing both activities she ran to the sand pit and took off her crocs to play in the sand. She used to hate the sand before we went to Hawaii, but now she loves playing it in as long as her shoes are off. She doesn't like the rubbing of the sand on her feet when her shoes are on. I love that she doesn't care about playing in the sand. Also I'm getting better at letting her just enjoy herself without the need of brushing off sand on her. Yeah, I still need to work on the getting dirty.
She was excited when the circle time bell rang. She loves circle time, always has. Although this is our first formal preschool, she has a lot of experience with circle/story time. We started doing music class when she was six months. She also does gym class. We try to make story time every Wednesday at our public library. We have also did a community class once a week for an hour and for a few months this past summer, we did preschool at our house with a couple of our mommy group friends.
The kids got to wear dinosaurs mask and march to "We are the Dinosaurs." Faith didn't wear it on her face, but she did put it on her head. The teacher brought out different types of bones for the kids. She didn't care for the coyote skull, but she liked the smaller bones.
Then it was snack time. The snack mom was so clever, she cut dinosaur shaped sandwiches (bread, turkey, and cheese). I'm going to have to buy some more cookie cutters. Such a cute idea. Although Faith only ate the cheese and turkey.
After snack, I wanted to prepare Faith because although it was our first official day, I had bathroom duty. I was a little concerned that she wouldn't want to play on her own while I was cleaning the bathrooms, but I didn't have to worry I think since this is our third time here and she knows exactly where I'm at, if she needs me, she was comfortable to go explore on her own.
I'm so proud of my little girl!
She played in the areas when she could still check in on me for awhile and then she got bored and asked to go outside on her own. Of course, I enthusiastically said yes. After I finished, I went outside and saw her playing happily with the teacher and a few other kids. They were taking turns walking up a ramp. I can't even express how happy I am to see her so independent and socialize with others.
This parent participation preschool is such a great idea and I really do wished we started earlier. It's helping both of us, because I can relax a lot more as well because all the parents are wonderful at our class. They are very good about making sure their child plays gently and take turns. That is another issue for us. Most kids are a lot more aggressive than Faith and she will never fight back. She is getting better at not letting others grab things from her. We used to have to give her pep talks about telling other kids no and pulling back if people grab her toys.
Faith got to ring the bell for our second circle time. She was very excited about that as well. After listening to the teacher read and singing our goodbye song, she even ran up to give the teacher a hug.
The best part is that she doesn't want to leave. That's such a great sign. I let her run outside for awhile with the other kids and one of the daddy. She had a great time although she fell and got her stocking dirty. She was about to stress over the dirty, but I had to talk her and myself down. "It's just dirt, it's okay, we can wash it when we get home."
What a great day we had! I'm also so proud of her for being such a big girl when I have to go to my physical therapist/therapist/acupuncturist/doctor appointments. She knows and accept who will be home with her, gives me a hug and a kiss, and waves bye mommy, without shedding any tears. Well according to her, she said, "sometimes I still cry." What a big girl!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Update
I am so behind on my blogging. I have so many thoughts running through my head all the time. I have so many notes on topics I want to blog about, but once the moments pass it's so hard for me to get myself back on track. I'm going to try harder to schedule time for my blogging.
Since I'm making time right now, I'm going to give an update on what's going on. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me with the yucky weather. This rain and the time of the month has not helped my mood lately. The good thing is that I've kept pretty busy with Faith's schedule and all my doctor appointments that there isn't much time to think about how I am feeling.
Husband is so wonderful. He's one step ahead of me all the time, he ordered the sun lamp before I even had a chance to. I think I have slight seasonal affective disorder (SAD). For as long as I can remember, the winter seasons are always harder for me. Let's see if the lamp works. Also we should have a couple of sunny days before the rain returns so I'll try to pay attention to see if my mood improves.
Beside the weather, the sleep deprivation hasn't helped much for my mood or my body to recuperate. We're trying a lot of new things with Faith. Most of it has helped a lot and I have a separate post devoted to it. I will try to finish that post as soon as possible because that has a lot of helpful strategies. One of the new thing we're doing now is to have Faith on a separate bed next to our bed. I have no problem with the idea of sharing a bed with her, but I really can't sleep when she is next to me. I wake up constantly when she rolls into me. She also loves sharing my pillow and even using me as a pillow. It's been a rough couple of nights. She did the best the first night, she always does well the first night we try anything new. The second night, she woke up screaming and ended up back in our bed. This new bed is a little toddler bed and every time she moves around and bumps her head, she wakes up. She rolls a lot and ever since she was one she has slept on a full size bed so to adjust to a smaller bed has been hard for her. Last night, she rolled off the bed, ended up on the floor and then back on our bed. Then she was screaming off and on all night and woke up really early this morning. After our busy morning at preschool, we took a three hour nap.
Preschool is another change for us. I'm doing a parent participation preschool with her. She loves it so much! I wished I started this earlier, but better late than never. I'm even looking into parent participation elementary school for her in the future. I think with her sensitivity, this will be a good option for both of us. It lets her know that I'm there for her if she needs me. She is usually really bold once she is comfortable with the environment and the people in it.
I'm making more of an effort to reach out to my friends. Hubby does his best to support me, but I need more on a daily basis. I've always been very social and friends are very important to me. It's hard finding time now as a mom to see my friends or even talk to them. Faith has a difficult time when I'm on the phone so there isn't many opportunities for me to call all my friends and catch up with them. Facebook helps some because it's a quick way to see what all my friends are up to, but it's still not the same as face to face interaction. I had a few play date the last couple of weeks with allows me to hang out with the parents while Faith is playing with the kids. Even with other kids around, she still demands my attention. But some adult conversation is so much better than none.
I had a wonderful mothers night out last night with some of the moms from my mother group. We had a yummy dinner at Cheesecake Factory and great conversation. It's always so wonderful when I see these mommies. They are always so supportive and never judgemental. I always feel re-energize after seeing them.
I'm going to end this post here, baby is waking up again. I think she is teething tonight.
Since I'm making time right now, I'm going to give an update on what's going on. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me with the yucky weather. This rain and the time of the month has not helped my mood lately. The good thing is that I've kept pretty busy with Faith's schedule and all my doctor appointments that there isn't much time to think about how I am feeling.
Husband is so wonderful. He's one step ahead of me all the time, he ordered the sun lamp before I even had a chance to. I think I have slight seasonal affective disorder (SAD). For as long as I can remember, the winter seasons are always harder for me. Let's see if the lamp works. Also we should have a couple of sunny days before the rain returns so I'll try to pay attention to see if my mood improves.
Beside the weather, the sleep deprivation hasn't helped much for my mood or my body to recuperate. We're trying a lot of new things with Faith. Most of it has helped a lot and I have a separate post devoted to it. I will try to finish that post as soon as possible because that has a lot of helpful strategies. One of the new thing we're doing now is to have Faith on a separate bed next to our bed. I have no problem with the idea of sharing a bed with her, but I really can't sleep when she is next to me. I wake up constantly when she rolls into me. She also loves sharing my pillow and even using me as a pillow. It's been a rough couple of nights. She did the best the first night, she always does well the first night we try anything new. The second night, she woke up screaming and ended up back in our bed. This new bed is a little toddler bed and every time she moves around and bumps her head, she wakes up. She rolls a lot and ever since she was one she has slept on a full size bed so to adjust to a smaller bed has been hard for her. Last night, she rolled off the bed, ended up on the floor and then back on our bed. Then she was screaming off and on all night and woke up really early this morning. After our busy morning at preschool, we took a three hour nap.
Preschool is another change for us. I'm doing a parent participation preschool with her. She loves it so much! I wished I started this earlier, but better late than never. I'm even looking into parent participation elementary school for her in the future. I think with her sensitivity, this will be a good option for both of us. It lets her know that I'm there for her if she needs me. She is usually really bold once she is comfortable with the environment and the people in it.
I'm making more of an effort to reach out to my friends. Hubby does his best to support me, but I need more on a daily basis. I've always been very social and friends are very important to me. It's hard finding time now as a mom to see my friends or even talk to them. Faith has a difficult time when I'm on the phone so there isn't many opportunities for me to call all my friends and catch up with them. Facebook helps some because it's a quick way to see what all my friends are up to, but it's still not the same as face to face interaction. I had a few play date the last couple of weeks with allows me to hang out with the parents while Faith is playing with the kids. Even with other kids around, she still demands my attention. But some adult conversation is so much better than none.
I had a wonderful mothers night out last night with some of the moms from my mother group. We had a yummy dinner at Cheesecake Factory and great conversation. It's always so wonderful when I see these mommies. They are always so supportive and never judgemental. I always feel re-energize after seeing them.
I'm going to end this post here, baby is waking up again. I think she is teething tonight.
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