Who'd of Thunk It

MontessoriMom.com - You're an Artsy Mother Hen:

"I'm an artsy mother hen"

Check out this website to see what type of mother hen you are:

http://montessorimom.com/what-type-mother-hen-are-you/

On the same website is a survey to determine what 'gifts/talents' your children have.
Here's what we came up with: (Sorry for the underlines...can't get rid of them)

Judson: Language
Ansley: Creativity
Sawyer: Adventure

Our Typical Week

This is what our typical week looks like. This just seems normal to us. It is our life and we love it. I think our life will be much busier as the kids get older and start doing more 'extra' things. It's funny how we sometimes think our life is the only way to define "normal" but the reality is, everybody's 'normal' is different. So how can their NORM be normal when our NORM is normal? Deep, eh? OK, maybe not so deep. Here's our week in a nutshell:

Sawyer has speech class twice a week at the local elementary school. He also has a 'special instructor' that comes to the house twice a week. We are still trying to get his OT back once a week. Do you realize 4o-50 years ago, this type of education/early intervention was unheard of for a child with Down Syndrome? It is still unheard of in most other countries in the world. He is thriving! His skills are far above what he would be without this intervention. How lucky we are to live in the country and era we live in. This kid has many talents/gifts. He shines!Right now, Ansley has her Dumpling Gang that meets every Sunday for a couple of hours. She loves it. And of course, she is dragged along to everything the other 2 are doing.Judson has karate once a week. He and Sawyer are also starting swimming lessons twice a week for the whole month of March. We also try to take advantage of the things around us. Like last nite, he and his dad when to the Seuss birthday celebration.In addition to the above, we also home school our kids. Luckily, right now nothing has to 'formalized' as they are too young for the state to want to know. Anyone who knows us, knows we do not fit the stereotypical mold for home schoolers. (If there is one) We are not fundamentalist nor are we granolas. We just feel STRONGLY that based on our children and their needs and our abilities (at this point), we can do a better job than the school system, public or private.

So there you have it. On top of all the formalized 'stuffs' we do, we also have lots of fun just playing as you can tell by the pictures.

Bad Karma Week

Well....having one of those weeks. I head over to the gym last nite and see all the people standing outside. Apparently, my gym is closed, for good. It was my solice! It was the few hours a week I got to 'get away'. I'm feeling tense already. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, today we go to Judson's karate class for the parent watch day. His Sensei announced he would not be returning. (after I signed Judson up for the next session, of course) There is supposedly another teacher going to be teaching next session. We'll see how it works out. I really liked Sensei Lawson though. He had a very easy way about him and handled the 4 and 5 year olds very well. More importantly, Judson loved the class. It was good for him and he did well in it. So, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Master Taylor will be equally good with the kids and Judson will continue to like karate.

Judson's last basketball game was last week. So at this point, we're an impaired exercise family. Hope things pick up in March!

Another Chance to Help

My friend Andrea is doing another fund raiser for her kids on Reece's Rainbow. She's trying to raise money for those kids most at risk of being sent to a mental institution. Kids have very little hope of surviving in a mental institution. Many don't live even 1 year. So if it is in your heart (and pocket book) to help, please check out her website.

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/giftoflife.htm

If you don't think your donations will help, check out the homecoming page. Many of these kids would not be with their forever families had it not been for donations to Reece's Rainbow. Check out the before and after photos of these kids. Amazing what love can do.

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/homecomings.htm

We Survived!

Oh yes, we survived basketball season. J's team went 7-1. Woo-hoo! AND, J got a trophy for "Most Improved Player". He's so excited.

We also survived our first (Hopefully one of the few) trip to ChuckECheese. Can you believe in my many years on this earth I had managed to avoid that place? Talk about your sensory overload....
J was overwhelmed to say the least. So was his dad for that matter. (Like father, Like son)

This is what you do when the buzzer is going off.....

Perfect!

For some time now,I've been searching for something that is just for Ansley. I think we hit upon our opportunity. I took her to our local university to try out the Dumpling class. It's basically a 'play date' for little ones her age. There were about 4 or 5 other girls there. All were adopted from China and all were around 3 years old. The class was run by students who were majoring in Chinese studies. Most were of Asian descent (Taiwanese/Chinese) while some were Caucasian. Like most students, they kind of flew by the seat of their pants. The kids loved it. Today they learned about the year of the Rat and played games and learned nursery rhymes. ("learned" being used in the loosest sense of the word.)

It was pitiful as I was pulling out of the driveway. Ansley said, "Mom, you bring me back home when we are through?" I almost started crying. I, of course, assured her we'd be coming home. The flip side of that was as we were leaving the classroom, she said, "Mom, we come back next week?" Again, I assured her we would.

So it was a success. I love it when a plan comes together!

Been Quiet

Nothing much going on. We are just doing what we normally do. Sawyer has therapy. Judson has basketball and karate. Ansley is her typical drama queen self. Just the usual.

Judson has 2 more basketball games. They lost their first game last week. Some of the older boys were quite upset about that one. Judson was oblivious. He knew they lost but it really didn't bother him. I think he's ready for round ball to be over. He wants to take more days of karate.

Reading to brother: (We really do feed him. He's just skin and bones)
Sawyer has therapy 4 days a week. Twice he goes to the local school for speech and twice they come to our house for 'special instruction'. He's doing great. We took him to the eye doctor this week. His left eye is turning up and in. Apparently, it's not enough to require treatment at this time. It's only enough to freak mom out.


At the game:
Ansley is her usual self. She screams 'bloody murder' whether you gouge her eye out or touch her hair. She is starting her very own 'thing' this Sunday. I found a place at the local college where kids can learn about Chinese culture through play activities. (Thanks Alison for passing that on). I'm going to take her this Sunday and see what it is all about. It's geared toward 2-4 year olds, so hopefully it will be perfect for her.

All dressed up with no place to go:
We've had a few unseasonably warm days which make us wish Spring were here. (without all the bad storms)