Stroll down memory lane

I took out the kids' scrapbooks today (I haven't worked on them in two years and I am in a funk about doing it anytime soon..) and we sorta looked through them for an attempt at family home evening (which is more successful then most.) Ben pointed at everything (mostly the diecuts and stickers) and they were all really excited to see what they looked like as babies. I'm very thankful that I have those three...I got very sick everytime I was pregnant, but I wanted these kids so badly!! I look back at the trial I had of being pregnant and laugh to myself because that was the easy part!! They're a lot of work, and I'm glad that I can sit back and watch them grow and learn, and help them grow and learn too!! A lot of times I regret getting my tubes tied because I just really want FOUR (Brad has a brother and two sisters and lo and behold I have two sisters and a brother as well) so four just seems very natural to me... But really, I have my hands full with these three and am just so blessed to be alive to see them. They all looked so different as babies too!! That was another thing I was seeing. Samuel looked totally different from Saria and Benjamin. They're all absolutely georgous though ;)

YAY for potty training

I am not even doing it!! Ben has started taking his diapers off in the morning and throwing them in the trash (I think it's because Samuel does this and he's just copying Samuel) BUT, a lot of it is HIM, because he also takes off diapers (if he can) when he pees in them ONCE, and throws them in the trash and claps and says "yay!" I think it's a great thing, considering I haven't really even started potty training him yet, he's figuring it out on his own!! Brad doesn't seem to like the idea...spanked him several times on the butt for taking his diaper off, says it's "a waste of a diaper" and while that may almost be true I will never spank him for doing that because I KNOW that it's because he's learning. When I told Brad what he was doing, he told me to "shut the freak up." I wish sometimes he'd look at the big picture, see the things the kids do that's positive for a change...and not be so hard on them...I'm sure he wishes I'd be harder on them, but I believe that he's just a little too hard on them and needs to lighten up... He slept on the couch on his own last night...and while this is really no one's business and I probably shouldn't even post this...I'm really getting tired of it and kinda wish I had a friend to talk to..

My throat hurts!

WHY do I always get the crud LAST OF ALL and the worst? UGH this sucks!! My throat hurts, not to mention I feel like my head weighs 100lbs and at the same time can float away like a balloon at any moment. On another note, it is quite warm here today, in fact...I can't stay outside for more then ten minutes it's that warm!! I love it!!! We played outside, the kids did at least, Brad and I tried to do some yard work, but this yard is freaking huge so we didn't get very far!! We DID, however, find not one but TWO eggs from Easter haha.. I guess we DID hide a few after all.. I wonder how many more we will find, and when....

Saria's sick :(

OK so...EVERYTIME Saria has a fever she ends up either throwing up, or coming really close to it. Tonight so far she's only come close, but it scares the mess out of her everytime it happens. I think that because she was premature this happens because it doesn't happen with the boys, but always does with Saria. She's had a cold for the past few days which we've been giving her medicine for Pedicare something or other, but when she gets the fever part she just looks sooo bad. Her eyes start to look really glossy and kinda reddish and her cheeks turn bright red. I put a cool washcloth on her head and flip it every so often and basically tell her to go to bed because I know if she plays around it'll get worse and she'll end up throwing up and what kid wants to do that...so now she's asleep finally!! It's ONLY 11:32, I mean COME ON!! :)
Ben fell asleep tonight on his own, we were playing on the computers and I look over, and he's sitting there with his butt in the air and his "lovie" blanket underneathhim and he's passed out. This is different because he usually comes and sorta hits us and yells at us when he's tired. I thought he looked incredibly cute with his butt in the air!! Wish I took a picture.. Sam also fell asleep different tonight, hes' got his little stuffed "rucky" hippo with him, and he looks sorta like he's sitting up on the couch.. hehe OK, I am going to bed!!

BIG improvement!

Since starting the children's sonkbook cd on the computer Tuesday Saria has NOT been to the office!! She also has only had ONE five minute time out since then, and NO time outs today!! She is having a much better time, she listens to her teacher and is not whining!!! This is awesome! It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the problem is, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Saria relies on her surroundings and other people's emotions to dictate how she feels. So if we're happy, and the environment is happy she'll be happy...which is just about OBVIOUS but I didn't realize how MUCH these things impacted her, until the teacher sent sucha lovely email to me and told me the good news. AHH Behold the POWER of the Gospel! She loves listening to the songs, and got upset this morning, in fact, when I skipped one of the songs she enjoys, so I had to go back to it. Keep ya posted of course!!

Looks like free/low cost healthcare!

Well Saria comes home from school today with an envelope containing a form for free/low cost healthcare from her school's learning specialist. I was just gazing over it, and noticed that in a family of five, the max income for a month is 5080 dollars, and I just started giggling!! That's insane!! Brad has a really good paying job, and I even factored in his reserve pay, and TOPS total is about 4.5 k a month if that! Of course, I was basing THAT on if he's got serious overtime, so it appears as though we will have healthcare for the kids very soon! Then his insurance only has to worry about him and me.. I literally am still baffled over how we can afford our bills/rent sometimes, but we always have money left over for food etc, (I KNOW it's from paying tithing!!) I dunno, just wanted to share my news, I think it's good! OHHHH
This morning I woke Saria up with a kiss, I had the cd of the children's songbook (one about choosing the right etc) playing in the computer closest to the dinner table and I TALKED to Saria as she got dressed and ready for school and she seemed to be in a different and totally happy mood, which is usually NOT what happens in the morning with Saria, and she comes home today and she tells me she had a GOOD day, so maybe these positive influences and little acts of love to her will help her overcome the problems she's having. I KNOW there's something deeper with Saria that's wrong, I just have to figure out what that is so I can help her with it. But for now, I think that her having the music playing softly, and her and I having a nice mom to daughter chat each morning will help with her anger problem at school at least. I'll keep posting updates of course!

Not a very good day

So I had a phone conversation with Saria's teacher today, and basically she's concerned with Saria's behavior in the same ways that I am. We discussed her behavior at home and at school. Basically, she behaves the same way in both places. First off, we talked about how she's an excellent student academically when she applies herself, but socially she's not doing well. She throws fits in class, to the point where she is removed from learning for periods of time and this not only disrupts HER learning, but it disrupts the entire classroom from learning. Saria doesn't seem to GET that when she does something BAD or WRONG that she is punished for it, she just THINKS she's the victim everytime, and that we're punishing her because we don't like her. One of the things stated was thinking about having her repeat first grade because maturity wise, she's not going to be able to handle 2nd grade. We also talked about having her seen by a pediatrician who can maybe diagnose a problem (because we've both tried several things and nothing seems to be working) and I think that this would be the best option for Saria. They have a learning program set up in the schools that if Saria were diagnosed with a behavioral problem she'd have access to this program which would help her learn in my opinion because she'd be with teachers that understand her problem and can help her overcome the maturity issue...Sounds like a solution right? Have her seen by a doctor that can either help US to determine what the issue is, or get her started in a special program at school. If we did take her to a doctor MY feelings on medication are that they can pretty much stuff it, I will not do that to Saria. I personally think that either they'll diagnose her as having a behavior problem and we can go on from there, or they'll at least give us more options then what we've already tried. My main focus is on Saria, and the goodness that Saria is, not ignoring the problem and hoping it'll correct itself. I really don't know what the best choice is, but her teacher and I have both been praying for her, and we are pretty much at our wits end when it comes to a solution, we've tried it all.