Updates

Okay, I really MUST do better with this blog!

I have just been so busy these last few weeks, and when I finally sit down to type a blog post, it often goes unfinished. I am sure I have hundreds of unfinished blog posts.

I have been very busy because this is the time for photo shoots! Doing the photo shoot does not take much time, but editing the pictures (which is my favorite part) can be very time-consuming. My clients generally like a really fast turn-around on the pictures, so I have to keep up! Also, I have started a weight-loss regimen, which I try to focus on when the girls are down for naps or bed. Which, as all you mothers know, is the only free time I have! I do dance cardio and toning exercises for 50 minutes, about 4-6 times a week. Of course, some of those sessions get interrupted (and therefore do not get completed) by a crying baby or a young girl who is outgrowing daily naps. And then there is just everything else. Like this: But I am not complaining. I am enjoying this phase in my life; making some money, losing some weight, doing lots of fun things with the girls.

How are the girls? Whew! Dustin and I are very exhausted by the emotional turmoil we experience on a daily basis. Dustin says every day that we need a boy in this house!; someone who will just bring a balance -and possibly- some stability to the emotional chaos. I am sure it is worse for Dustin in some ways because he has to deal with ME too! :) (Though I think he would tell you that, for the most part, I am pretty stable. I hope. ;))

On that note, I decided to change my attitude about the girls' behavior toward each other. I am going to work harder on guiding them to get along better. This week was a really good week for that. The girls played together very nicely and I very rarely had to pull them apart. This is something we are going to continue to work on.

LARA
We are half-way through our reading curriculum. I really need to step it up now and try to supplement the curriculum with other reading activities. The lessons are generally pretty easy to get through now. I've started teaching Lara to write her letters, and I have been really impressed. Lara's fine motor skills are excellent, in my opinion, and she does very well writing her letters. She simply remembers how the letters look in her reading book and writes them down without any help from me. With a little guidance, Lara can also write some words, like mom or rat, just by saying the word slowly to determine the letters from the sounds. But Lara does not know all the sounds in the alphabet yet, nor does she quite know how to read normal print. The letters and words in the curriculum are written in specific ways to help the child know how to sound it out. Transition to normal print is happening a little now. I type this so none of you will thrust a book in Lara's face and ask her to read something for you. It won't work like that quite yet, though Lara has been reading a little.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Lara is doing fine on a physical level. I do not talk too much anymore about the physical ramifications of cerebral palsy, since, so far, Lara remains stable. We continue therapy every other week, and no concerns have been voiced from Gretchen. In fact, quite the opposite-Gretchen states how impressed she is with Lara's abilities and flexibility in some areas. We do have Lara wearing her tall braces all the time now as she is up on toes very badly. The important thing to remember here, however, is that this toe-walking is not, as of yet, impeding her physical progress, AND, she is able to put her heals down when she remembers. This is a huge plus. When she is not able to put her heals down when she tries, then we might talk Botox. But we are hoping to avoid that/hold off as long as possible by constant use of braces and doing lots of stretching exercises. The truth is, we are so lucky so far that Lara does not require any medication or extra therapy.

Claire has surpassed Lara in walking, though not yet in climbing. At the very beginning, this was hard for me to see. But Lara understands why this is, and the truth is, even if Lara is behind Claire in physical development, she will always be the big sister helper. Here she is teaching Claire to play a game. CLAIRE
What a cutie. These last couple of weeks, she has wanted to just be held A LOT. One morning, we just wore her in the carrier the whole time.

I have discovered something she really enjoys, and it keeps her busy so I can cook. Whenever I emptied a container, instead of throwing it away, I just passed it on to Claire. She enjoyed shaking crayons in the butter box, then moving them to the oatmeal box, then throwing them all over the floor. A messy house means a happy house, and when it comes to my kitchen, that's the truth!!!Claire has become a really finicky eater. She prefers to graze. She was so fussy at the table tonight, so I just put her down despite having not eaten anything. So she would come over to me, open her mouth and say, "AH!", I'd pop a bit in there, and she'd waddle off to play in the living room. A few minutes later, she'd come back in, and we'd do it again. She uses a fork and plate now, and uses the fork quite well. In fact, she will get upset if you do not remember to give her a fork.

Claire really loves to paint, and now that she is mostly over having to stick everything in her mouth, she can join in some craft projects. I need to start her craft journal. I made a 0-3 years for Lara, and now we are on her second, so it's time for me to start one for Claire.

One of the reasons I do not blog so much anymore is because I am afraid my posts must be quite boring. I am sure it is the same old thing over and over. I am afraid I am painting a quite boring picture of the life of a mother. However, an old college friend sent me a very nice message the other day stating just the opposite, so that gave me a little motivation to get going on my blog again.

I want to be very real about the hardships of being a mother, but I also want to express the humor and enjoyment that comes out of each day. And, also, it is important to look back on frustrating experiences with good humor, especially when it involves your family.

Well, I think that is quite enough for the night. Hope to see you all again soon here.