Daily Ramblings

The nanny search is back in full swing these days. We now have a possible LDS candidate. This could be nice. Kids are bathed, dressed, and ready to go for it. It only took me 2 hours this morning to get it done. Hmmmm, I'm still in my P.J.s and haven't brushed my teeth yet though. That's typical. I'm surprised the palmer student wants me to keep coming back. It's just hard to take care of myself. I shouldn't be, but I am low on the priority list. Sorry Hubby! I bought cute material for the girl's spring summer jumper dresses. It cost $50-$60 total. I am trying to save money on their wordrobe this summer and spring. Well, Joe is crying...must get to it.
Cheers!

D.J.

D.J. working it out at Gravert's ATA

Daily Ramblings

One of the many benefits of homeschooling your little ones is that you can have as many sick days as you need. When I had 3 kids in pre-school it seemed like I was calling the school at least once or twice a week due to dr. appt, sick kid, counseling, etc. Large families tend to pass around the sickness for up to a month (sometimes). D.J. and Megan are both still sick with a pretty nasty cough. At home they can lie around for a while and practice phonics in their books for a while. They can continue learning at home.

Singing time went well yesterday. I'm sure the older kids were pretty bored with their activity; however; it was good to calm them down a bit. We were small in number yesterday for Primary.
Next week we will be learning "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus". Please practice with your little ones. The Juniors will fish again (they seemed to enjoy it) and the older kids will do some sequencing with pictures & words.

I feel sorry for anyone who missed Brother & Sister Perkin's talks yesterday. They talked a bit about measuring your spirituality by 2 things. #1: What do you think about during the sacrament & #2: How do you observe the Sabbath. Great talks! I enjoyed the delivery as well as the content. In the spirit of "not being too hard on myself" (which is a chronic flaw of mine) I seriously fall below where I wish I could be. There is something about trying to keep 5 little kids settled during the sacrament that just disturbs my thought process about the Savior. By the time we get home there is quite a bit of work to do. Kids to undress, change diapers, feed meals, etc. It's work. There has to be a balance somewhere. I know though that Heavenly Father understands where I'm at right now. He doesn't expect me to dive into serious study of the scriptures. I am paying the price for not doing those things though. Seriously...........nonspiritual is how I would describe myself. Taking a shower by myself these days is a goal.

This week will be a busy one. I'm almost done with Megan's Easter dress. All that I would like to do for their outfits now is find a cute hat and purse. I have extra ribbon from their dresses that I could sew or glue onto their accessories. The boys will just have matching polos and I would like to fit into a certain dress that I haven't been able to wear forever. I'm making a few casseroles today, heading to Palmer for an adjustment, and taking care of sick kids. Oh yes...also still looking for a mother's helper (preferably someone who will not have --- in my house!
Cheers!

Positive Energy

Thanks Ashleigh for the list of things to improve ones life. I had to stop on this one and make it my goal for the week.

14.) Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, issuesof the past, negative thoughts or things you cannotcontrol. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment

It can be discouraging to feel as though we are not making progress in aiding our children's healing. Often it seems like we take one step forward and 3 back. What has kept me going is stopping to enjoy the good moments with my children. They are precious. They are also hurting. So...thanks for the reminder and I will keep my energy invested in the good moments this week.

(For more info on RAD, check out the links in my sidebar. I have 3 kids struggling with this)

Some Ideas

50 Ideas in case you're bored of dinner and a movie :-)



1. Sketch your dream-house floor plan and talk about the possibilities of each room.
2. Write the story of how you met. Get it printed and bound.
3. List your spouse’s best qualities in alphabetic order.
4. Tour a museum or art gallery
5. Kiss and hug in the dark while looking at the stars.
6. Attend a fall festival together.
7. Take a stroll around the block - hold hands as you walk.
8. Spend a night together in a hotel with a whirly tub.
9. Give your spouse a back rub.
10. Rent a classic love story video, microwave some popcorn and watch the video while cuddling.
11. Build a fire in the fireplace, turn out the lights, cuddle and talk.
12. Take a shower together.
13. Go swimming in the middle of the night.
14. Write a poem for your spouse.
15. Remember to look in your spouse’s eyes as he/she tells you about the day.
16. Walk the mall together with the goal of not to buy, but to test perfume and cologne along the way.
17. Hug your spouse from behind and give him/her a kiss on the back of the neck.
18. Stop in the middle of your busy day and talk to your spouse for 15 minutes.
19. Take a free tour of a local factory.
20. Do something your spouse loves to do, even though it doesn’t interest you personally.
21. Send your spouse a love letter.
22. Build a snowman together.
23. Watch a sunrise or sunset together.
24 Sit on the same side of a restaurant booth.
25. Picnic by a pond.
26. Give your mate a foot massage.
27. Put together a puzzle on a rainy evening.
28. Take a bike ride on the Duck Creek path.
29. On a hot summer day, wash the car together, with the intent of splashing each other with water.
30. Whisper something romantic to your spouse in a crowded room.
31. Have a candlelight picnic in the back yard.
32. Perfume the bedsheets.
33. Serve breakfast in bed.
34. Reminisce through old photo albums.
35. Have coffee together at a coffee shop.
36. Share a milkshake with two straws.
37. Kiss in the rain.
38. Brush his/her hair.
39. Ride the merry-go-round together.
40. Dedicate a song to him/her over the radio.
41. On your anniversary, renew your wedding vows with family and friends.
42. Have a hot bubble bath ready for him/her at the end of a long day.
43. Buy new satin sheets.
44. Tenderly touch your spouse as you pass one another around the house.
45. Reminisce about your first date.
46. Plant a tree together in honor of your marriage.
47. Raid the kids' toy chest and go kite flying.
48. Attend a sporting event you’ve never been to together.
49. Take time to think about him/her during the day, then share those thoughts.
50. Create your own special holiday.

Singing Time Plans

In the spirit of my blog theme, I have chosen to "Go Fishing" with the junior primary. I will modify the original fishing game just enough to make it more interesting for the little ones. There will be 3 fishing holes around the room with plenty of fish. Some fish will be blank on the back, so the kids will have to toss them back in the water. The others will have our songs on them. 25 minutes will fly by. The older kids were extremely rowdy with the musical chairs last week. Unfortunately for them I must soften the potential for rowdiness. I have made 2 sets of the monthly song. The song has been cut into word strips. 2 teams will compete to see who can unscramble the sets the fastest. We will also be reviewing the monthly song and singing just a few others if there is time. I cancelled appointments today and it's just me and the five children at home. We have been sooooo very busy lately. We are in need of a lazy day at home. I am starting up classes Feb 1st and have many things to get accomplished before I split my attention in that direction. I plan to work on the classes mainly in the evening. I am becoming an insomniac anyway. I am SO tired that I cannot shut down like a normal person. Kids are fussing already and I must attend to them. Cheers!

Blurry Eyes

Attention readers: I am SO tired tonight that my eyes are blurred as I look at the computer. I feel like I've been running for 2 days and going nowhere. Isn't that what being a mother to young children can seem like? The laundry for example is never ending. Just when you feel caught up, somebody has to go and change clothes on you. We've been blessed to have someone here temp. at least to get us by until we can find the right mother's helper. (I prefer to call this person a mother's helper vs. nanny....nanny sounds more like someone who comes in and does everything while the mom leaves for work). Oh no, I have enough work at home to do...even with the help. Although at times it sounds rather tempting to leave for a different job. I know I would miss my little monsters after the 1st day. As tired as I am...they are worth it. It's actually extra work to explain our family to a totally different person. This is why I have neglected my blog too. Joe is sick and I am saddened to say that the other children were looking a bit puney by late this afternoon. Sometimes we just need to stop the madness. Tmrw will be a relaxed P.J. day. I'm even cxl my appt. at Palmer to stay home and relax with the kids. No homeschool. SICK DAY!

Some Pics

Cali our Saint Bernard-the most friendly guard dog ever!

Cheese! Joe at 11 months and a few days

Alayna's new Dress (my second official sewing project)

Mother & Baby Bonding

I never imagined in a million years what it in reality felt like to have a (biological) child. The emotions I have felt since the beginning of my pregnancy up until currently are more than anything I can really explain. I feel connected in a strange way to other mothers. It's like they feel it too. So I'm trying to put into perspective the mother baby bond in relation to the love a husband and wife share. It's hard because my husband and I have been through so much in the last 5 or 6 years. We had a heap of joy and stress placed on our lives upon receiving the 4 children (at once) and then going through a pregnancy and additional birth. We aren't as spunky, fun, light hearted, or romantic as we used to be. I really miss that side of us and I fear it has been dimmed by the daily stresses and demands of our current situation. Is this side of our relationship going to be messed up forever? I hope we can get it back. I'll say that we have a pretty solid marriage ...however, neither of us are finding a way to keep it nourished. It's hard work taking care of 5 little kids...and then to add their special needs and my physical issues, along with Drew's school/career stress...ugg. It's like we can't get our heads above the water long enough to stop and enjoy each others company. I bet bringing children into a marriage changes marriage for just about everyone.

Singing time & looking for a new nanny

So I am sitting here thinking about how singing time will be for today. To be honest I think it took me until Wednesday of last week to recover from last Sunday's singing time experience. There were just too many kids...the older kids were being disrespectful and not making things any easier. They are splitting into a jr. and Sr. group this week. Hopefully this will make it better...even though that's twice the amount of time for me to do the job.
Jr. Primary: Bean bag toss. I have laminated 8 black music notes. I will write the song number on the back of the notes. The kids will take turns tossing the bean bags onto the notes. We will also practice the monthly song.
SR. Primary: We will start by working on the monthly song. I plan to teach the older girls the descant part. Then we will divide them into 2 teams. Boys Vs. Girls. They will take turns playing musical chairs. While one group sings/stops the other will play musical chairs. Hopefully they will think it's fun.

So..now we are in search of another mother's helper for our family. If any of you know of anyone...please leave a comment or get ahold of me. This person could be live-in or live-out. The salary remains at $200.00 per week plus room and board. If it is a live-out person the hours would be M-F 12-6 or 7pm...live-in hours are more flexible.

Now it is time to get back to preparing the singing time activities. Until next time....Oh wait...Drew and I went to see the "Bucket List" yesterday. It was a feel good movie, but if you are a sap be sure to have tissues with you and don't wear eyeliner (or guyliner for that matter). Anyone catch the American Idol auditions last week? Some freak wore eyeliner and kept referring to it as "guyliner".

Thanks!

Here is a special shout out To M. Sheldon for helping me figure out the html codes for my blog. Thanks!

I can't believe I am staring at this screen trying to drum up something good to say. I'm drawing a complete blank here. Some things are better left unsaid anyway. Some Isaksen news would be that we let our nanny go yesterday. It had to be done. I like to think of myself as a generous, flexible, and outgoing person. I'll just say that the nanny didn't leave us with much to work with. We will be searching for a new nanny over the next few weeks. This time I think we will do a 1 to 2 week trial first. Getting the right kind of person is pretty important. I'm off to do some cooking with Drew. We have a low carb breakfast on the agenda.
Cheers

RAD: Reactive Attachment Disorder

Here are a few insights on reactive attachment disorder. RAD is a very common disorder among adopted children and children who are or have been in foster care. Sometimes I try to wish away the fact that 3 of my children deal with this. RADs can cause havok on a well meaning family. Especially people who want nothing more than to love and meet their children's needs. RADs is often an unwelcome suprise to hopeful adoptive parents. I've been a part of a discussion board and learned from others' experiences that Drew and I are not alone. Some of the couples on the board have adopted babies from Russia and other countries too. So...how did my 3 oldest children end up with this problem? Their early needs were not met. When babies or young children are neglected they cannot form trusting relationships or bond to adults or caregivers. Drew and I are trying build this trust with our children. Anyway, I'll write more on this later, but I'll tell you why I'm frustrated today. I decided to spend some quality time with my older 3 children this afternoon. I left the babies home with the nanny. ANyway, I made a serious effort to be in a good mood, be loving, and remain calm (aka...ignoring majorly annoying behaviors). We went out for lunch and had a pretty good time. Well...the pattern that develops after rcving positive attention always catches me by suprise. Even after nearlt 3 years. Since they rcvd positive attention they paid me back with awful behavior. Yes...they push me away just when you think you've created a good memory. This is a major reason why birthdays, Christmas, or any special attention results in disaster. Without going into detail I will just say that these children made ME pay royally once we all got back home. I'm frustrated. The other wonderful thing about RADS is that most of your family and friends think your kids are normal. Well, RADS kids are great about putting on a superficial or charming front for people. Don't get me wrong, I love my children RADs and all. I know they were meant for us and I need to learn to draw on God's power to parent them.

Primary Today

Hello all! So Primary is like HUGE! Did I mention that last week. Oh my. Next week they are splitting it into two groups. I'll have to do singing time 2x, but after today's experience I would rather do it 2x with smaller groups. There were like 50 kids in there. If there weren't 50, it seemed like there were that many. We did a "clues" activity. I grabbed several items from around the house. As they pulled the items out of the bag they guessed what song went with the item. Our family picture stood for "Families can be Together Forever", door hinges was for the song "Hinges". I thought it was a fun idea, but the room was so chaotic that it was way too challenging to keep their attention. I also got a good start on one of the girls dresses for Easter. I'm using a Butterick pattern. If you ask me, this pattern is a lot easier to understand than the Simplicity dresses I made for Christmas. I should go. I need to get dinner on the table.
Cheers!

Snore

This picture says it all

Mental or not...

Mental or not, here we go with some meds for a change. I'm hooked up with muscle relaxants, vicadin, and anti-inflammatories. The main side effect for the relaxants is major drowsiness the first few times I take it. We just fed the kids dinner and I plan to take this after we put them to bed. So, when I awake I will give a full report. I have vivid dreams at time. I am looking forward to 14 hours of sleep. Yes, the pharmacist reported that at first I may sleep that long. I havn't slept that long in 3 years. Well, good night all.

Am I Mental?

According to this article below....it's a possibility that I'm just freakin mental. This must be what is causing my chronic back pain. Who woulda thought? Okay...hand me over some anti-depressants and pain killers so I can start enjoying my life again.


Pain May Mask Depression Around the World
26th Apr 2007 by Dr. J C
In medicine, we often see patients with chronic neck and back pain. I previously posted about patients who present with neuropathic pain and how they can be some of the most difficult patients to treat. Often, the etiology of their pain is unknown and treatment often involves a long trial and error approach.

Health professionals have always been taught that chronic neck and back pain is a phenomenon of industrialized nations. The words “Worker’s Comp” come to mind when thinking of the patient who comes in for a complaint of neck pain or low back pain. “Worker’s Comp” has become a pejorative term in medicine, clearly indicating the stigma associated with patients who have back or neck pain.

New research published last month reveals that those patients who have persistent neck or back pain often have an underlying mental illness that needs treatment. The data from this study was from the World Health Initiative Survey on Mental Health and included over 85,000 patients from 17 different countries, including the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. The report specifically found an increased risk of anxiety, mood, or substance disorders from patients with chronic neck and back pain. This phenomenon held steady for both industrialized and non-industrialized countries.

What is interesting about these findings is that it actually validates the many opinions of primary care providers - that patients with chronic pain often have other underlying neuropsychiatric issues that may be affecting their pain. Whether the illness is a cause or effect of the chronic pain is unclear, but there is some association there.

I hope this data helps providers hone in on mental health in their patient history. Hopefully, we will start detecting mental illness earlier to prevent problems in the future.

Reference

Demyttenaere K, et al. Mental disorders among persons with chronic back or neck pain: Results from the world mental health surveys. Pain 2007 Mar 8.

Homeschool

It has been a crazy few weeks trying to recover from Christmas break. Joe had a Dr.'s appointment today during homeschool time. The older kids had counseling this afternoon. I think we all survived without adding the homeschool element to our day. It's hard to let go of my pre-formed expectations of how each day should unfold with regards to homeschooling. Alayna hasn't been doing well with our method of homeschooling. We do take a formal approach with regards to working in books; however, we also do a lot of group activities along with a unit study. Alayna seems to be leaning towards a preference of Unschooling. Unfortunately, with 5 kids to think about I have to do the approach that is working for the majority of the group. Alayna is young enough still that I feel she can wait a while until she feels ready to work in the workbooks. I will not let her off the hook from our opening exercises which include: songs, prayer, devotional, and a group game or unit study activity. I don't have the emotional or physical strength to go to battle with her on the workbook elements.

Time to get moving

The sky is grey and the temp is comfortable today...sorta reminds me of home (Oregon that is). Some people say weather like this is depressing. I actually prefer it. There are a few fall leaves still hanging on to trees around here, but soon the trees will be bare. Anyway, it's nice to have a small break from bitterly cold temps. We have a homeschool today...and that's it for the agenda. As usual, I can hardly move in the morning, so I need to start moving around anyway so things will loosen up some. All of you chiros out there ignore this next statement ..... I am looking FORWARD to pain killers and muscle relaxants. I hope taking these will bring up my quality of life a bit. Listen....I've been going to the Chiro 3x a week for a LONG time and I still have little to no relief. Oooh, ouch! I hate to end this post on such a negative note, but I must get going. I have 5 little blessings waiting for my attention.

Cheers!

Drew & Michelle; Once Upon A Time

Yes, well happy Monday to all. We are back in the swing of the routine around here. Drew started back to school today. WE've been having lots of fun conversations about the future. It's interesting to talk and dream about what we would like to accomplish after our Davenport days are over. I also love talking about the house we will one day build. Of course...I'm sure building a house is way down the line for us. Who do you think will rent to a family of 5 small children and a HUGE dog? Hmmmmmmm. Somebody will....
So it's supposed to rain and thunder today! I love this kinda weather.

Sunday

It was lovely to sleep in and take our time getting ready for church today. Now that it doesn't start till 1pm. The kids did great today. We came home and they quietly played with toys while we made dinner. Anyway....singing time went as well as can be expected. Primary was like 4x larger than normal. Tons of new little sunbeams. Boy were they cute! I do hope they split the Jr. & Sr. primary...then singing time will be divided in2 groups as well. Well......once the kids are in bed I think I might pull out my sewing project. Since the Christmas dresses were actually wearable (is that even a word)...I though I would make a few more dresses and see if I can improve a little. Ta ta!

NO MORE!

Today is a milestone for little Joseph Henry (who isn't so little anymore). He has stopped nursing (not by his choice). It's been hard, but the time has come for Joe to quit with the nursing. The past two weeks he has been nursing 1st thing in the morning and right before bed. Now he is done. The main reason is so that I can have the freedom and ability to take meds for my back situation. The muscles are in what seems to be a constant spasm. We are hopeful that the meds will help me to get over the hurdle and with the help of lumbar flexion distraction, PT, and taking it easy that the situation will be resolved. Joe will survive. He is shy of 11 months old and eats very well otherwise. It's a teeeny bit sad, but I am also looking forward to having my body to myself a liitle more. I am also convinced that the fleeting desire to be pregnant again is JUST hormonal. It's been an on again off again deisre. One minute I'm like....oh, I want, want, want...the next minute I'm thinking more realistically and it seems that having another baby is CRAZY in more ways than one. I'm convinced it is a hormonal shift.

Singing Time This Week

This is really for any of you out there with the singing time calling. This is my "job" for church each Sunday. I thought I would post each week what the idea is. Some of my ideas I get from LDS websites like the 'Idea Door". Most of the time I adapt it just a bit to fit what we are doing. This week we will be "Singing the Raindrops Away". It will be the new Sunbeams first official day in Primary. I have made a sun, cloud, and raindrops. The plan is to start singing time with an umbrella...telling the children it's time to sing the raindrops away....each raindrop has a song on the back of it. After we sing through all the raindrops we will reveal a sun behind the clouds and end by singing "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam". Finally we will spend a few minutes going over our song for the month of January which is "I am a Child of God".
That's the plan. 30 minutes usually goes by quickly and I'm sure we have more than enough to fill the time this week. I really want the kids to enjoy singing and look forward to church on Sundays. By the way, this week church starts at 1pm. I'm glad we have more time to get the children ready ...however; it messes with nap time. These days, sleeping in a tad appeals to me.

Phew!

Okay...I've spent a little too much time on this blog transfer stuff for today, so I hope you enjoy it! Nap time is almost over with...so I need to hurry. You know I have TONS of pics to choose from to add to the site. I just tossed a few on here from Christmas. I'm taking it easy due to my back issues. Guess Drew is going into the right profession, huh. Too bad he won't make any $$$$$$$ off of treating his wife. It's supposed to warm up over the next few days and I hope to get the children playing in the snow. That's all for now!

Christmas

Alayna busy opening a gift


Mom and Joe


D.J. & Santa


Megan & Santa



Alayna & Santa

Seth & Santa

Cheers

Hello Friends! Welcome to Ramblings of a busy mom on blogspot. I recently decided that I needed to change my blog host. Be sure to visit my old blog if you are interested in the older news. It is usually pretty busy around my house, so I apologize in advance for the slight time lapse between posts. I'll try to be good.