As the proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child and that certainly rings true for all the help we will be getting when I go back to work.
I will continue to work from home Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and my mom will come to our house in Boulder to watch both Carina and Samantha. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Samantha will be going to preschool in the mornings and my mother in law Judy will be watching her in the afternoons. Carina will stay with my mom on Tuesdays and Dave's mom on Thursdays.
A little hectic but pretty incredible. Yes, I do know how lucky we are to have both of our families close by and to have mothers that are so generous with their time and love.
Balance
I've had a lot on my mind lately but not a whole lot of time to write. I am preparing to go back to work and while there are often times I am really excited to get back to parts of my job, I keep thinking that I am just figuring out how to mother two unique and wonderful kids - now I am going to be the mom of two little kids and a full time employee.
About a year ago I wrote a blog post about the Four Burners Theory and I am constantly trying to work out in my mind how to get in all the areas of my life that help make me whole. Forget four, I have a lot of burners that are important to me.
About a year ago I wrote a blog post about the Four Burners Theory and I am constantly trying to work out in my mind how to get in all the areas of my life that help make me whole. Forget four, I have a lot of burners that are important to me.
- Quality time with my kids and husband
- Meaningful relationships with friends and family
- Being an excellent employee
- Exercise
- Getting adequate sleep/rest
- God, spirituality, reflection, church
- Reading, learning
- Giving back, community service
Happy Mother's Day
I am so lucky to be the mom of these two amazing little girls. Not only that, but I have an incredible mom and mother in law as well. Hope you all gave love to all the mothers in your life!
You can see our photos of Mother's Day and more here.
You can see our photos of Mother's Day and more here.
Last Boy, Newest Girl
My Papa and Grandma Modina came for a visit to meet Carina. Here is a photo with my Papa, the last boy born in our family of girls, with his newest great granddaughter Carina. She is the 23rd girl in a row since Papa.
My Papa's older brother, Byron Allen passed away this weekend and we are all very sad for his passing. I am sending lots of love and prayers to his children, grandchildren, my Papa and our family who is feeling the loss of a great man.
Sensitive Sammy
I mentioned awhile back that Samantha graduated from speech therapy. Now it is hard to believe we were ever worried about her talking. What I never really described was her transition into occupational therapy. She began occupational therapy because of her sensory sensitivity.
She has demonstrated this through things like her aversion to getting her hair wet, avoiding loud noises, hating to get her finger nails clipped and a number of other similar things that cause her to isolate herself and act very shy. This time last year we began to meet with Kate who is wonderful and works with Samantha doing things that are outside her comfort zone like finger painting or interacting with other kids she doesn't know. The idea is that Samantha has difficulty filtering too much sensory information. If there is too much stimuli it causes her to shut down and retreat. At a birthday party with kids running around and loud noises, you will find Samantha off in a room by herself. Kate has taught me techniques to better prepare her of the unknown.
I have to admit that I go back and forth feeling like this is very real for Samantha and feeling like Samantha just needs to suck it up and act like a normal kid. I know that sounds horrible but after an hour trying to wash her hair, or sitting out of gymnastics class because she won't interact with a new teacher and kids or having to chase her around the house to be able to brush her hair, I'm wondering if it is me that is doing something seriously wrong.
I also feel like we had made a lot of progress and then regressed once Carina arrived which Kate tells me is very normal. In June Samantha is starting preschool two mornings a week and I'm feeling very anxious and excited to see how that goes. I truly believe it is going to be very, very good for her but I also think she is going to have a hard time. That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger right? All of this has certainly been a good lesson for me in patience and love. She is the sweetest child, always very caring and aware of what is going on around her. I just don't want her sensitivities and shyness to cause her to avoid enjoying things and having fun.
She has demonstrated this through things like her aversion to getting her hair wet, avoiding loud noises, hating to get her finger nails clipped and a number of other similar things that cause her to isolate herself and act very shy. This time last year we began to meet with Kate who is wonderful and works with Samantha doing things that are outside her comfort zone like finger painting or interacting with other kids she doesn't know. The idea is that Samantha has difficulty filtering too much sensory information. If there is too much stimuli it causes her to shut down and retreat. At a birthday party with kids running around and loud noises, you will find Samantha off in a room by herself. Kate has taught me techniques to better prepare her of the unknown.
I have to admit that I go back and forth feeling like this is very real for Samantha and feeling like Samantha just needs to suck it up and act like a normal kid. I know that sounds horrible but after an hour trying to wash her hair, or sitting out of gymnastics class because she won't interact with a new teacher and kids or having to chase her around the house to be able to brush her hair, I'm wondering if it is me that is doing something seriously wrong.
I also feel like we had made a lot of progress and then regressed once Carina arrived which Kate tells me is very normal. In June Samantha is starting preschool two mornings a week and I'm feeling very anxious and excited to see how that goes. I truly believe it is going to be very, very good for her but I also think she is going to have a hard time. That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger right? All of this has certainly been a good lesson for me in patience and love. She is the sweetest child, always very caring and aware of what is going on around her. I just don't want her sensitivities and shyness to cause her to avoid enjoying things and having fun.
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