hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

I'm trapped in the bathroom. Trapped because if I open the door and go out, then Kit will start wailing all over again. I now have to wait until I get the all clear from Victor. That means she's asleep and I am permitted to move about my own home freely. It's 1:30 am and I'm stuck in our freezing bathroom with no heat because the only way for my baby to fall asleep with someone else is for me to be completely out of sight and hearing range. Interference I've been trying to put Kit to sleep for over an hour now. She's completely exhausted, her eyes red rimed and heavy. But something is keeping her awake. She has some kind of unfulfilled need that we haven't met that is not allowing her brain to shut down and let sleep take over. She kept nursing then popping up like her body had a spring in it. When I'd try to talk to her calmly or help her lay down she would throw her head and body back. Right into the back of the couch which is squared of...

Stuff(ed)  Well, it hit me the other day that we are officially a household of SIX! Like when we fill out forms and they ask you 'How many live in household?', I now have to write SIX. You may be thinking, "So what? Big deal."  Well, it was really profound to me when I first realized it. On a random Friday we were five. By Monday, we were six. That's pretty huge. Especially since our house is not. We have been juggling things around haphazardly just to find space for everybody to sleep. But the biggest puzzle always is, where do we put all these CLOTHES!   I had just gotten things to the point that I could say that everything had a place. It wasn't always in it's place, and often I seemed the only one who ever knew where it's place was, but it at least had one. Suddenly, back at square one. Well, maybe three or four.   Vic and I and Kit are pretty much living out of suitcases and cardboard boxes since we want to giv...

HOORAY! OUR BILIBOS ARRIVED TODAY! Yeah, weird name... awesome toy! I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the kids open them. I was busy refolding clean clothes that Grandpa was pulling out of the plastic bin I keep Victor's extra clothes in. Grandpa gets confused about what is his and what is ours. I had just brought him his clean laundry and was starting to put it away in his drawers. He went to the bucket to get me more clothes that he thought were his and needed washing. He starts pulling them out of the bin, unfolding each item and laying it on the bed. The conversation went something like this: (Grandpa speaks with a heavy Spanish accent, btw.) "Okay, this is another one. It needs washed. Yes?" "No, that's Victor's shirt. Yours are right here. I'm putting them in this drawer." (Organizing drawer so similar items are together.) "No? This is mine?" "No, that is Victor's. Yours are here in these dra...

  It was a dark and stormy night...   Yes actually it was. It rained all day, which I personally didn't mind all that much since I didn't have to go anywhere in it. And the big kids didn't mind because it wasn't thundering for large parts of the day which meant they could still have recess outside (we home school). Grace was doubly excited because I bought a new umbrella last night. A clear one! She couldn't wait to go out! As soon as they finished their math, she whipped on her purple puddle boots and was out the door! Zak was right behind her, and the giggles that made their way through the rain and walls were tremendous.   They were quite crestfallen when I called them in, despite my assurances that that was just their first and shortest recess. In fact Grace had a mini-breakdown when it briefly stopped raining. With tears streaming, she looked at me as if I had betrayed her by purposely turning off the rain. I assured h...

Every great story has a decisive, and usually challenging, plot twist. Well, we just got ours. Enter: Grandpa. Moving In In the midst of investigating the possibility of my kiddos having SPD, our family has also been deeply involved in the care of another family member with special needs. The Plot Thickens...   Grandpa, Victor's dad, recently has had a rapid decline in health. Recent as in: three months ago was the first we became aware of a significant problem. Then it has quickly plummeted since then. Physically he's quite healthy. The same, sadly cannot be said of his mental condition. He has just been diagnosed with moderate/severe Alzheimer's and severe Bi-Polar Disorder. The second diagnosis was not all-together a surprise, but the intensity of a recent manic phase was. At the same time, the intensity and severity of his Alzheimer's also became glaringly apparent. It has resulted in huge, life altering, changes for all of us. The Pot is Boili...

Yay! My baby slept in her own crib for three and a half hours last night! That is the longest the she has stayed there in a very long time. AND... she wore her footed pajamas! Without yelling, or any excessive tugging , clawing  and crying .     The Who and What Kit hasn't slept on her own in her bed all night since the minute she was born. Yes, even in the hospital, when it was time to settle down for the night, she would cry. We would check her diaper. We would swaddle her. Very tightly, just the way she liked it .We would lay her in that plastic bassinet thingy just like the nurses did. We would try giving her a pacifier, she would just spit it out. Then cry, and cry and cry and cry. Daddy would try and hold her, rock her, sing to her. More crying. Finally I would get ready to nurse her and as soon as Daddy would put her in my arms she would stop! Instant sleep. And I wouldn't even have to nurse her every time.  ...

This- is Zak. He's ten. Our big, bright, lightning bolt! You always know when he enters a room! Or exits it for that matter. :) Life for him is not lived as a passenger, no sir. Of course, he's not always driving either. Sometimes he has a brick on the pedal, strings attached to the wheel and he's on the hood with the air in his hair and bugs in his teeth. Why? Because life's more fun that way. He rarely does anything the traditional way. Our great inquisitor has a heart of gold though. He is kind to everyone and loves trying to make us laugh. He loves to laugh, and his laugh is so much fun to hear. The best belly laugh I've ever heard. Always busy in mind or body, he rarely slows down till he's asleep.  Hungry for life, he's smart, and curious, and bursting with good ideas. Everything a ten year old boy should be and so much more. Sometimes sassy, always sweet, he's the best big brother I've ever known. Not that he doesn't annoy hi...