Therapy

Today X had his first official session with his new therapist. I LOVE HIM!! In fact, I want him as my therapist. :) He is a very "large in stature" man with a calming "radio" kinda voice. He used to play for the Seattle Sonics and is now an assistant coach of the CBC Men's College Basketball Team in his spare time. He is really positive, and right off the bat you can tell he is a genuinely cares. Not only will X be seeing him once a week, he is also going to stop by the middle school every other week and talk with the staff on his behalf, check in on his progress and to say hi to X in his environment.

Right before we left he gave X his card to keep in his wallet, and told him "when you need to you can call me or text me. If ever I don't answer, just leave me a message and I will always call you back. I am on your side, we are a team and you'll never have to feel like you have to fight your battles alone. I will help you learn the skills necessary to be successful in school and in life." He told him he could tell he was a great kid and said he was excited to get to know him and said he looks forward to seeing him after Christmas.

I couldn't stop smiling. I loved it! The intake psych was a little too straightforward and tougher than I wanted for X, and I was nervous about another guy therapist, I almost insisted on a woman because he responds so well to them (the kid's got some SERIOUS mommy issues) but he doesn't really respect women because he can "charm" them so easily (and he can, that's no lie) but this guy... IS AMAZING. He is exactly perfect for X. I was so happy that I almost cried!! lol.

Hooray for answers to prayers!! I am excited for this next chapter in the Xie saga. He will turn out to be a great man yet, just you watch. Patience and persistence. :)

Get your 'P' on!

In our house we have a saying. "Get your P on!" It's a silly little thing that reminds us to be: Patient, Positive and Polite. If I catch one of the kids not following those family rules I remind them by saying something silly like: "Don't forget to P!" , "Sounds like you need to P" ... or something along those lines. To outsiders it sounds like I'm being gross and using potty language, but to my kids it usually makes them laugh; which, along with the secret reminder usually corrects whatever poor behavior they are portraying.  It's part of my P.arenting tactics I am working on. :)

• Patient
• Positive
• Polite
• Playful
• Persistent
• Practical
• Prayerful
• Pleasant
• Proper
• Praise

Maybe one day I'll write a book... :) but I gotta test out my theories and make sure they work first! Otherwise I'd just look like a Punk! lol.

Oh no you did-n't :)

My step boys Jabali and Xavior have a propensity for offering up unwanted parenting "help". This LONG Christmas break has not been an exception.

Today's little pre-teen parenting tip: Eat all your food or sit at the counter forever.

Xie to Marley: You can't get down until you eat everything on your plate. So sit back down and eat your breakfast.

Me: I'm sorry, what? Do I make you eat everything on your plate? Has that EVER been one of my rules?

Xie: No, but she should not waste any food. And I don't want her to think she can treat me the same way she treats you.

Me: Um... wow, I didn't realize she treated me so poorly. And you, the ultimate waster of food is going to judge a 2 year old? Hmmm... :) How many kids do you have X?

Xie: (rolling his eyes at me) None.

Me: Oh, that's right you don't have any kids. I know you are just trying to help me, but like I always point out, I don't need help parenting. Especially from someone who is not yet a parent. :) But the good news is when you do have your own kids you can force them to eat all of their food and leave them with emotional scars that cause eating disorders if you want, but these are my kids and I'll raise them how I feel is best.  If you want to help me ... do some dishes :).

Xie: I am never going to have any kids. All they do is make big messes and cause problems.

Me: Tell me about it! (smirked at him)

Xie: Oh shush! At least I clean up after myself... some of the time!

Me: :) How's about those dishes??

Xie: (walking away laughing) Not a chance!

Ha, ha!

Hilarious!

I just can't say NO!

I bought another magazine subscription I don't need today. I hate myself for it too. I could cancel but I won't. lol. I know my weaknesses and door to door sells are one of them. Here's why:

1. People are always mean to them, so I like to be extra nice.

2. I love strangers, and helping them out is like a double bonus.

3. My anxiety flares the second they step foot in my house, and I will do anything to get them back out. lol.

Mostly the first two, but that last one is a biggie!! So. I have decided to solve this problem by putting up a sign on my front door.  A nice framed "No Soliciting Please" sign. It will say something like this:

No Soliciting Please

we found Jesus

we love our vacuum

we already give to charity

we have more magazines than we need

and my kid is selling the same crap you are

but good luck and have a great day!!!

:)

That's nice enough right?! Obviously friends, family and the missionaries are always welcome at my house, but that's not soliciting. I don't even mind when people of other religions come over and chat me up a bit. They aren't trying to sell me anything. It's those darn college kids and their tuition costs. Well, I have college students of my own to support too dang it!

Dorms and Dreams!

While researching some housing options for my brother Jake's Winter/Spring track at BYU this year. I came across an ad on craigslist. This guy was selling his housing contract so he could run off and get married. Pretty typical, when I went to college I bought my cousin Jana's contract so she could do the same thing! :)

The funny thing about this particular ad was the very last sentence. It said this:

"If you buy this contract, all your dreams may come true; you'll never know if you don't buy."

I laughed so hard when I read this! Seriously LOL action. The place isn't that cool. My boyfriend lived at that apartment complex, and I remember it being so-so, and the price is not a huge discount from the orginal price.... but after that tag line?! I wanted to call him and ask him where to mail the check!

I love a good laugh!

Making These!! :)

http://daisyt13.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/santa-hat-brownies/

My Day Off

My husband gave me the day off today. At first I fought him over it, I thought he was trying to be rude ... he's not exactly the best with words; or rather I am super defensive. :)  I left the house in a huff without thinking about where I was going to go or what I was going to do.

I slammed my car door shut, flung myself into the driver's seat and pouted. I buckled the seat belt and turned my favorite "bad music" up really loud... a couple f-words later and I could feel the start of a smile creep across my face (I really love bad words and swearing in general. haha) and I decided that I was going to get a Rockstar. As soon as I cracked that bad boy open it was over! I was singing and dancing and la-la-loving my 'me time' all over town. Happy Day Off indeed. lol.

I spent the afternoon shopping and found some great deals. I parked at the back of parking lots because there was no need to rush, I went to 5 different stores, stopped to get coffee and go tanning, I didn't have to stress about littles or worry about how much time I had left before the boys got home, or what I was going to cook for dinner. It was fabulous! So fun. The only thing that could have made it any better would be a friend or two, creme brulee and maybe some Tofu Teriakyi.

All in all, it was a fabulous, relaxing day!! And now, I know what I want for Christmas!! :)

Snoqualmie Pass

My "most visited" website isn't Pinterest, it isn't Facebook, or even my Blog page. It's this:


http://wsdot.com/traffic/passes/snoqualmie/default.aspx



Every day (multiple times on most days) I check the weather on the Snoqualmie Pass to see whether or not I will be driving to Ellensburg or North Bend to pick up/drop off stepkids. Even on days I don't drive I check the weather reports to see if the extended report includes snow or super low temps so I can make a plan either way. It's a compulsive behavior I have, I hate it but I can't stop doing it... now you can do it too. :)

Hopefully Spring is just around the corner... that or a new job for my husband. Either one!

Truth!

December Disclaimer

I absolutely love Christmas time. I love everything about it. Family, Music, Treats, Charity, Activities, Lights, Hot Chocolate, Kindness, Decorations, Trees, Love, Snow, Happiness... spending obscene amounts of Money! lol.  

I love it all!! It makes me giddy. :) So be warned that my posts during this month are most likely going to have lots of : )  :)  : ), and probably way too many !!!!!!!!!!

Early Mornings

Early mornings mean a jump start on the day, a few extra hours I wouldn't have if I had gone back to bed. I woke up at 6:15, got the boys off to school, did some laundry, organized for a while, did a little online shopping, stalked all my favorite people, and now I am about to jog on the treadmill (while watching Limitless, again) then go make breakfast for my kids before they wake up! :)

It's going to be a great day!

Christmas Countdown Begins!! :)

I have been waiting for Dec 1st for quite some time! I absolutely LOVE doing an Advent Christmas Countdown with my kids, and this year is going to be awesome! :)

I didn't want to use a standard Advent Calendar this year; I wanted something different. So after looking at a bunch of ideas online, I decided that while I thought each idea was super cute, it wasn't what I wanted. My Little's are mischievous and most wouldn't last a day, especially if they found candy in even one little box, flap or envelope. :)

I needed a way of storing the activity/book/treats for a single day without having to display everyday at once. I remembered getting a tiny mailbox in place of a stocking one Christmas (my mom was super creative, and she enjoyed last minute shopping so it could have been her creative genes or a general lack of stockings at the store! lol) Anyway, a mailbox popped into my head. I did a google image search and sure enough I found someone who used a mailbox for an "Advent Calendar". I couldn't find a small craft size one that I deemed large enough for the perfect image I had in my head, so I bought (paid way too much for) a real-mail letters-steel-outside mailbox to use. :)

We decorated the outside of the mailbox with Christmas stickers and magnets. The Little's helped me and it turned out super cute, I didn't even overly OCD anything, just straightened a piece here and there. :) Now, each night I'll put an activity, book and treat in the mailbox and put the flag up for them to find the next day. Exactly what I was looking for and SUPER FUN! :)

(I will replace this crummy picture with a good one as soon as the battery for my camera is charged!)