Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

It's Okay to...

• join the mini-van crowd. I've been spoiled by the huge amount of room and stow-and-go seats. As a friend said, "Once you go minivan, you never go back!"
• think that adult women should not have Easter egg colored hair. A few interesting highlights are nice. Pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness is good. Anymore than that and you should leave it to the 18 year olds.
• track your daughter's poop. Grace has constipation issues and our current tactics don't seem to be helping, so we're tracking and trying to figure it out. And before you ask, yes - there is an app for that.
• love the fact that Brenna had a hard time choosing between a light saber and a princess doll at the store the other day.
• try Flylady again. I really think she's on to something.
• promise to try and blog more. As long as the stomach flu stays away for good!

Check out Airing My Dirty Laundry to see what else is okay!

Menu Plan Monday

We ate out waaaay to many times this weekend because I failed to have a plan. I don't mind the occasional fast food dinner, but its so expensive for our family of five, it normally makes us all feel sick afterwards and honestly it never really tastes that good. So I'm determined to have a plan from now on!

This week will be:
Monday - Baked Chicken Breast
Tuesday - Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas
Wednesday - Chili
Thursday - Goulash
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Kielbasa
Sunday - Beef and Noodles

What are you eating this week?

52&7 : Half-time Report

26 days ago I posted my resolutions and explained I was going to follow Jon Acuff's lead and focus on certain things for 52 days at a time. So how am I doing?

Financial
*Update the checkbook daily.
- I'm not doing this daily, but at least every other day. I can see me needing to do this less eventually(since I don't spend money everyday), but for now I need to stick with making this a serious habit.

 *Reduce grocery budget by $25/month.
- The funny thing about reducing your grocery budget is you have to know how much you spend to begin with. I know how much our budget allows, but I don't actually follow that when I'm at the store...oops! I'm going to start taking out the cash and using the envelope system with this to help me track it better.

Physical
*Exercise 4 times a week for 30 minutes.
- My 10k training plan gets me moving three days a week. That fourth day has been a challenge, but I'm doing it!

*Lose 12 lbs in 52 days.
- I hate this resolution. I gained a few pounds back over the holidays and they just don't want to let go. Since the exercise is there, I really need to re-evaluate my diet. I won't make the 12 lb loss by my goal date, but I'm hoping to at least be back down where I was before Christmas.

Social
*Refrain from any complaining, whining or ranting social media posts.
- This has been surprisingly hard. I always thought of myself as a positive person, but I find myself second guessing posts. I have a lot of "friends" who don't know me in real life, I want them to know me as a positive person and not a Debbie Downer.

 *Reach out to encourage friends weekly.
- While I hope this comes naturally, this is not something I've actively focused on. 26 days to make it a priority!

Mental
*Read a non-fiction book every month. (This month is Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst)
- I finished Unglued (It was a nice read, but nothing life-changing.) And have moved on to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber.

Job
*Do dishes every night.
- This is not a habit yet, but waking up to an empty sink is so much better than a sink full of dishes. A work in progress.

*Wake up 15-30 minutes earlier than everyone else.
- I've actually started a Hello Mornings Challenge to wake up earlier for sometime to read the Bible, exercise and just generally get myself prepared for the day. So far so good! (It's day 1!) :)

Family
*Stay off of iPad, phone and laptop from 2-8 PM
- Major fail on this one.

*Focus attention on family when they are talking to me.
- I'm making more of an attempt, but I'm not doing this 100%.

 Spiritual
*Read Joyce Meyer's devotional daily.
- I have already read this devotional and got bored with it very quickly. This resolution is in limbo.

*Fill my mind with only positive things - this means I'm giving up my love of ghost stories and shows about murderous wives for 52 days. Goodbye I.D. and Bio!
- Surprisingly hard for me! I did watch one episode of Dateline on ID. And felt wonderfully guilty the whole time.

How are your resolutions coming along?

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

It's Okay to...

• downgrade your cable package and be the only one in the house who misses the 24 hour cartoon channels. Nick Jr. I miss you (specifically Olivia and Peppa Pig)!
• search for everything you might possibly need on Amazon. I signed up for the Prime membership (huge diaper savings!) and I'm determined to use it as much as possible!
• be sad that Grace doesn't want to cuddle much anymore. She's a busy two year old with too many things to do .
• to buy the book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems but wonder if you'll ever stay awake long enough to actually read it. I feel like I have narcolepsy lately...zzzzzzzzzzzz

Head over to Airing My Dirty Laundry to see what else is okay!

State of Grace

I realized I haven't written about Grace for awhile. I think she is the reason most of you read my silly blog to begin with, so you deserve an update. :)

Best friends Grace & Jessie. 

Where do I begin? I guess we'll start at the top and work our way down.

Grace's new wheels. We ordered it in purple. 

• Grace's shunt has been working wonderfully since it was replaced earlier this year.
• Her vocabulary has exploded within the last few months thanks to the tips of our speech therapist.
• Her occupational therapist continues to work with Grace on using her left hand/arm consistently. She'll use her arm briefly, but it's something we'll have to work on for years.
• Grace is now able to get in and out of sitting by herself, climb over cushions, and take steps with assistance. She is a little pro with her gait trainer (a big walker) and I'm hoping she'll be standing on her own by this fall. 
• Today we ordered a "wheelchair" for Grace. It's basically a glorified stroller. She is getting almost too big to carry and has nearly outgrown the umbrella stroller. The main concern was if we decided to send her to the special needs preschool, they would want some way to transport her from room to room. It breaks my heart that we will have a wheelchair for Grace, but I just keep reminding myself that it's temporary. She is expected to walk. This is just some assistance in the meantime.
• Speaking of the special needs preschool, in a few months we will have a  meeting about her "aging" out of First Steps and what she will do then. It fills me with anxiety and is a good topic for a whole other blog post.

What you talking about, Mommy? 

Our biggest news has been with her vision. At the recommendation of a friend, I took Grace to the Low Vision Centers of Indiana. Dr. Windsor was so patient and helpful. Instead of being told that we "have to just wait until Grace can tell us what she can see", we were given so much more information on how to help her and what to expect. Grace has hemianopsia - which is very common in stroke victims. To get an idea of what Grace sees, place your hand over the left side of each eye. While she doesn't see just black, the brain blends in the space she can't see so it just looks very blurry, it does definitely limit her vision. It explains why she turns her head to the left to see (like in the picture above.) It helps open her line of vision. Try covering the left part of both eyes again. Now turn your head to the left. You can see a lot more! We go back in 6 months to see if she is ready for glasses.

I think that's about it! She's basically your typical two-year-old. She gets into anything she can, learning lots everyday and thinks the world revolves around her. And basically it does.

4.5

I went to Brenna's preschool on Monday to celebrate her half-birthday. Her real birthday is during the summer and she wouldn't have been able to celebrate it with her class.  Cupcakes and party games are a BIG deal to preschoolers and I didn't want her to miss out. So we arranged to celebrate now with pink cupcakes (she helped with the sprinkles) and two rounds of the Limbo.

 I can't believe she's almost 5. She's growing into such a wonderful little lady.

 

She's so loving and gentle. Very artistic. Thoughtful.

 

She's known for taking her time with everything. She's my "Pokey Joe" and I get so frustrated with her sometimes. I think we're learning to compromise - she speeds up a bit and I make sure to give her plenty of time if possible.

 

Brenna often falls victim to that "Middle Child Syndrome" and can get unintentionally overlooked. She's so quiet and agreeable that it's easy to just drag her along for the ride instead of focusing on her and what she may want. I'm working on that - trying to give her individual attention and affection I know she needs. She's such a sweet girl, I hate that she gets lost in the shuffle!

 

How do you combat the middle child syndrome?

 

 

 

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

It's Okay to...

 

• Think that Swiffer pads are super expensive. But with my track record of mopping, that box of 12 should last me about three years.
• Feel like I'm constantly buying clothes for my kids (because they refuse to stop growing!) but not be able to remember the last time I purchased clothes for myself...
• Fall off the wagon again. And again. And again. As long as you always make sure to keep getting back up.

Head to Airing my Dirty Laundry to see what else is okay!