Never a dull moment...

The last few months have been busier than ever.  You think your busy when your kids are babies...you have no idea!  We were so wrong.  As they get older, there are new challenges and things to worry about. Now that both Ben and Elizabeth are in school, my schedule is even busier.  Here is a run down of a typical day with us:

6:20am- Alarm goes off, wake the kids

6:25am- Take Ben to bathroom; get dressed

6:35am- Pack Ben's breakfast for school

6:40am- Wait outside for bus to pick up Ben

6:50-7am- Back inside with Lizzie to make breakfast for her and myself

7:30 -10(ish)- is a mix of everything, sometimes I work on projects, furniture, client material and that may take the entire 2 hours.  It's crazy, but oh-so-good...if time is available, I either take the time to run an errand, shower (if I have time), respond and read emails, blog, FB (gotta keep it real) and log into class 

10(ish)-11am- Lizzie time; ie: coloring, park, ducks, walk

11am- Leave to take Lizzie to school

11:20am- Come home and take a breather (phew!)

12pm-  Ben comes home off bus

12-12:30pm- Make lunch & eat

12:30-2pm-  laundry, phone calls, errands that may not have happened earlier in the day and potty training Mr. B (oh fun!)

2pm- Pick up Lizzie

2:30- returning home

2:35-3:30pm- in between Potty time for Mr. B, we have snack, I clean something around the house (ya know, I can probably get about one bathroom clean or just vacuum, you know how that goes with kids running around)

3:30pm- Therapy for Mr. B

3:30-5:30pm- in between taking Mr. B to the potty, Lizzie and I play whatever her little heart desires; and I start dinner

5:45-6:30pm- dinner & clean-up

6:30-7:15pm- baths, book time, in between giggling and tickling them incessantly

7:15-7:30pm- kids go down to sleep

7:30pm-till whenever I drop dead-  laundry, shower (if it didn't happen this morning), journal & school work.  School work literally takes my entire night. But I wouldn't change it for the world :)

I've contemplated sometimes how crazy busy my life has become.  I wonder sometimes if I have taken on too much?  Some days I feel as though, my children suffer because I can't give them more time.  But then...I see the above, and I have to kick myself.  My children are getting time with me.  I make time for them and inevitably, this schedule sometimes is shot and thrown out the window, because we all know life happens.  Generally speaking, we follow this schedule, we get up, eat, get ready for the day and I get the kids off to school and back home again.  Therapy happens and so does my school work.  But free time, laundry, cleaning the house, blogging, etc...it all takes a back seat to when someone needs an extra hug, a kiss on a boo-boo, a tickle party, a moment to teach my children to put their shoes on or teach them how to say sorry.  I wonder sometimes why we are so hard on people.  Ourselves?  I need to stop the incessant guilt I put myself under.  

Yes, my life is busy.  

Yes, I have to do about a million things before the night is over.  

But no.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I am so blessed to be doing what I am doing.  I love that I get to go to school and that I am showing my children to reach for the stars and to never give up.  I love that I am doing something I enjoy everyday of my life.  And I love that I feel stronger than ever before.  

The kids are doing well.  Ben continues to have ABA therapy 4 days a week, which he loves.  Whenever they show up, he is all smiles and ready to play with them.  Most of what they do is behavioral and self-help skills, so it's work...but he loves them to death.  They are amazing people, who work with Ben and I can't say how grateful I am for all they have done for us.

(Sorry these photos came from my phone, that's why they are so clear and lovely)*please note the sarcasm

Ben and Nicole (his IEC for therapy)

And Elizabeth just adores school.  She loves her classmates and I am finally hearing more and more about them at home.  As parents, it's mandatory for us to help in the class twice a month and can I just say, I have a lot of fun when I go in!  Yeah, I'm probably like the only parent to ever say that.  But I do!  The kids are adorable and I love helping them.  

Lizzie loves the camera

And last month, all thanks in part to my dear sister for the free tickets,(THANK YOU TAMI!!!!), I was able to take Elizabeth to Disneyland.  I had enough to take myself, Elizabeth and Ben.  But after a lot of thought, I decided not to take Ben.  Seriously, it was hard to make that decision, but I had taken him to Knott's earlier this year around Spring Break, and he was terrified.  We couldn't even stand in line without him climbing me.  It just wasn't going to happen at Disneyland.  I hope in the future he'll be okay to go, but I didn't want to torture the poor kid :-(  Instead, I'm planning a fun little trip for us this month...one where Ben won't freak out.

So knowing this would be just a girl's day, for Lizzie and I.  We had a lot of fun.  It was like a day off for the both of us.  She is such a big helper to me and is like a mama to Ben also...so she needed this day to herself. We had a blast!!  In the afternoon, she was getting pretty tired (it was super hot and probably the worst day to go), so we stopped for a long ice cream break then headed over to California Adventure for Ariel's Underwater ride.  At the end of the ride, she looked over at me and says, "Mommy, that was so beautiful!"   Seriously, the cutest thing ever.   She loved it and that pretty much gave her, her second wind after that.  But in the end, it was mama, who had to cut the day short.  I was pooped!  

     

                                    

The last few months have been filled with lots and lots of activities, Disneyland, school, potty training and more.  And we haven't even begun the holiday season!


This should be fun!