Summer 101

I was prepared. I had a plan. I was ready for summer. I spent days creating and explaining to Kael lists, charts, jobs, schedules so he could have a sense of routine this summer. From the outside, today looked like it was lining up to be a great one. We had a free day, which meant I planned on getting a few errands done in the morning (including a stop at our beloved library), lunch (pizza- Kael's favorite), and an afternoon trip to the pool (even the weather was cooperating!).

Sounds like a good day, right? At the library we spotted a couple kids from Kael's class. They were playing together and Kael walked up to say hi. The kids acknowledged him but didn't show any interest in including Kael. He didn't know what to do so he ended up upsetting their game and they got frustrated with him. "It's OK, Laura. Kael doesn't need to be everyone's best friend," I reminded myself. But I couldn't help the voice inside me that replied, "Well, it would be nice if he had one close friend."

Back home, we stopped over at the neighbor's before lunch. Kael got squirted with a water gun (having his clothes get wet is a serious sensory issue for him) and he was ready to retaliate. I could see it in Kael's eyes- he was irritable. His behavior was slipping and I could tell he was about to crack. We headed home to regroup and Kael and Kylee started arguing about which pool we would go to. I tried hard to hold myself together as Kael slung insults my way. "Be strong, Laura," a voice in my head cautioned.

We finally made it to the pool and instantly, Kael was having a tough time keeping his hands to himself. He was pulling other kids down, "hugging" them (he can't understand why other 6 and 7 year old boys wouldn't want a hug from him), grabbing them. I must have told him 100 times to keep his hands to himself and I could see that it was becoming physically impossible for him to do so.

My head screamed, "Kael! What is going on with you today? It is our first real day of summer and you have upset all your friends! You have hurt my feelings and you have spent most of the day arguring with me and Kylee!"

But I knew. I knew the answer to that question without having to say it out loud. Today was different. Today was new. Today Kael was grasping for a sense of routine. In past years I have gotten myself so worked up and excited about the freedom of summer that I forget to think about how not having a schedule is so hard for Kael. This year, I thought I was ready for it, but it was still "new". It was a new routine that he wasn't used to and it showed. He didn't want to be irritable today. He didn't choose to act that way any more than he chose to have autism.

Sometimes I am thrilled that Kael is so "mainstreamed". His special needs go undetected to the untrained eye and that can be a source of great frustration. Kids (adults too) don't really understand or accept that Kael is different and they expect him to act accordingly. I can't help but wonder if Kael just had an aid at school, or if he went to some behavior therapies, or if he was in some social groups maybe these days of transition and social rules wouldn't be so tough for him. Am I doing enough for him? Am I pushing hard enough for him?

Love That Max is having some of the same questions, but on the other side of the spectrum: discussing if Max is too sucked into the special needs world. There is no easy answer. I just want Kael to be happy, and on a day like today it breaks my heart to see how tough his world is.

I have faith Kael will settle into our summer routine. And by that time it will probably be time to start getting him back into school routine. And once again, I'll do my best to be prepared and I will trust that God will either lighten the load or strengthen my back. I am proud to say that I have learned to handle a tough day with Kael without taking it personally.

Sleepovers with buddies, playdates and wide circles of friends might never be a reality for Kael, but he's not interested in that. He doesn't want a million friends or socially exhausting playdates.

We have been here before and we will be here again but in the meantime I will keep loving this little boy with all my heart.

Happiness Project: Quotes

Hope you all enjoyed a nice long weekend to kick start summer! I can't believe it's Tuesday already, which means it's time for a Happiness Project post. Over the weekend I read The Nine Rooms of Happiness and really enjoyed it. Lots of similar content to The Happiness Project, but reading another book on happiness gave me a renewed energy to keep focusing on being happy.


This week I was hoping to post how happy I am now that I had organized our computer desk, neatly filed away and/or hung the kids school papers, (btw this is brilliant, no?), revamped Kael's notebook for the upcoming school year, and simliar projects but, alas, I spent too much time boating and going to the pool this weekend that those projects got pushed to the backburner.


In high school, my bedroom was covered with quotes. I printed them off in funky fonts and stuck them to colored paper and hung them all over my walls and I loved them. I hope some of these bring some happiness to your day.

Don't do anything halfway unless you're willing to be half happy.

Be the change you want to see.

Talk and be yourself, then listen and be a friend.

Home is the comfiest place to be. (I'm thinking of putting this quote up in Kael's room somehow...or maybe having it on a pillow or something. He loves being comfy.)

Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Having a place to go is a home;
Having someone to love is family;
Having both is a blessing.

(I have been wanting to put this quote up in our living room for years now....)

Do what makes you happy; be with those who make you smile; laugh as much as you breathe love as long as you live.

Get busy living or get busy dying (few of you may know that Shawshank Redemption is my favorite movie).

Sometimes you have to give up something you love for something you love a little bit more.

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.


Have a happy day!

Friday Fun

Can you feel it? Ahhhh I can. Today marks our first day of summer. I am babysitting one child, a half day today, so technically speaking, my summer vacation starts on Tuesday but for all practical purposes, I feel like summer starts today!

When Kael got home from school yesterday we enjoyed these Dirt Cups for snack. Did you have these when you were little? So fun. Kylee had chocolate pudding and Oreo on her forehead. And nose, and chin, and arms. :)

We've made this fun chain to count down the days of summer. Can you believe there are 80 days?! That sounds like so many but I know they will go by way too fast. The goal of this chain is two-fold: Kael has a tangible representation of the days and can start preparing himself for the inevitable end of carefree summer days and get ready for "school mode"; second I hope it makes me appreciate the days we do have and fit all the fun we possibly can into each and every day.

I'm still working out a plan for chores/daily jobs for the kids. I am in love with these

Chore Chart Jars at Creations by Kara. Check 'em out!

Enjoy the long weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful today is Kael's last day of school. We are ready for some summer fun!




I'm thankful for good neighbors. Not just the kind who will keep an eye on your house when you're out of town, but the kind who are just great people. The kind of people who make you want to be a better person. The kind of people who let your kids use half of their yard for a baseball game. Honest, genuine, fun neighbors are something to be truly thankful for.




I am so thankful to live in Ankeny. An ice cream truck went by our house on Monday! Like, a real one, complete with ice cream truck music and a person serving ice cream with one of those cute paper hats straight out of the fifties. Kael later told me, "I used to want to grow up to be a scientist but now I wanna be an Ice Cream Truck Guy."





Last night Kael couldn't sleep and came out and said, "Mom, do you wanna come and lay with me? You know, since you love me?" Then he laid his head on his hands and rested them on the counter and looked at me with his devastatingly handsome brown eyes. How could a mom resist that??



I'm thankful for Archer Farms Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt. I usually put some fresh blueberries in it. Yum! I know the Greek yogurt is better for me but I just love this yogurt so very much. It is a healthier alternative to the actual Strawberry Cheesecake I had for breakfast a couple weeks ago. :)


What are you thankful for today?

Kylee

Last night I was in setting the table for dinner while Kent and the kids were outside playing. Kylee rushes in and says excitedly, "Mom, mom!! Your panties!!!" Um...I could see this conversation going nowhere good. I racked my brain for any possible idea of what she could be talking about. "Come outside and see!" she continued. Yikes, panties- outside? She had the happiest smile on her face and I could tell she expected the same reaction from me. So even though I still had no idea what was going on, I put a big smile on my face and said, "Cool! Show me!"

We raced outside and she ran around the corner to the back of the house and pointed, proudly at this:

"Mom, one finally opened! Aren't your panties beautiful?" she said. We had been checking them for weeks now, anxiously awaiting the first bloom. She dipped her nose down to the flower and said, "Ahhh and it smells beautiful too!".

I didn't want to crush her excitement so I went on and on for several minutes about how beautiful it was, how cool it was that she spotted the first bloom, how wondeful it smelled, etc. Finally I said, "But, honey, just so you know, they are pronounced pee-uh-neese". She looked at me quizically. "Yeah, that's what I said. Panties."

I just love her to pieces. Here are a few more pictures of my little sweetie.

Here she is on her last day of preschool. Three going on thirteen. She looks so grown up! I can't believe that's my little Kylee.

This is how she looked at 7 AM today. I feel like it goes without saying that we had just recently read a new Fancy Nancy book.

Happiness Project: Join a group

When I was reading The Happiness Project book, some of the ideas struck my fancy and some did not. Starting/joining a group was part of the "did not" list. Here's why. Who has time to join a group? We are already booked. On a recent Saturday we had 4 events that we needed to attend: tee ball game, graduation party, first birthday party, and a wedding! I can't imagine how crazy things will be once the kids are even more involved in sports and things like that. Another reason is that I'm not really..."group-y". I have always preferred to do my own thing and follow my own schedule.

I always thought if I did join a group it would be a type of autism support group- like a group of parents who have children close to Kael's age who are autistic. You know, people who are going through the same thing as me. My pediatrician gave me several phone numbers and meeting times of such groups but I just never made it. Nerves, maybe?

Kent recently suggested to me joining in a couple's study that our church is doing called Love Talk, by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. At first I was really interested, but then easily convinced myself, "we're too busy to commit to an hour and a half meeting every week for seven weeks," and questioned "who will watch the kids?". But it was important to Kent, and I knew it would be intersting stuff to read and talk about so we signed up. We've been to three sessions so far and I am thoroughly enjoying being a part of this group. There's also a workbook that coincides with the book and once we've completed each exercise, Kent and I discuss what we've written. It is fascinating stuff, I tell you! If you and your spouse haven't read this book I would highly recommend it. There are also videos that go along with it that we watch as a large group each week, then break into small groups to discuss further. Truly, being part of a group has brought me much happiness.

I'll write some more about the actual book and what Kent and I have learned at a later date- maybe once we complete the study. Look forward to that! In the meantime I will leave you with a quote that I read in the LoveTalk book, although the quote itself is from Reinhold Neibuhr.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Friday Fun

This "Friday Fun" thing is a bit new but I'm enjoying it so for the time being, I'll keep doing it. No promises on how long it will last.

Here's something I made as a thank you for my kids' teachers. Clearly I didn't think of this on my own- I found it on the Family Fun website. First, I found some fun, colorful, inexpensive ice tea dispensers. I filled them with a couple sheets of bright tissue paper then stuck in a whole bunch of packets of ice tea mixes, lemonades, and juices. I was going to tie a fun bow around the top but just didn't have the right ribbon on hand. The kids helped me write thank you notes that said, "Hope this helps kick your summer off to a great start!" I know if I was a teacher I would LOVE to get a gift like this! Beats the heck out of the candles I got them at Christmas....

Darn. I think that's the only fun (crafty-type thing) thing I've been up to so far this week so I'll share a couple recipes of things I made this week.

White Chocolate Party Mix (courtesy of my Aunt Connie) *consider yourself warned: this stuff is highly addictive!

10 oz. bag mini twist pretzels

5 cups Cheerios

2 cups Crispix

2 cups salted peanuts (I like dry roasted)

16 oz bag M & M's

2- 12 oz packages white vanilla chips

3T oil

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Microwave vanilla chips and oil together until melted. Pour over cereal mixture. Lightly mix. Spread on wax paper. Cool and break apart. Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars *this is a fantastic "know it by heart" type recipe that I almost always have the ingredients on hand for and that nearly everyone I know loves.



1 tube refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1/2 cup sugar
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 egg



Preheat oven to 350. Break the cookie dough in half and press half of it into a greased 8" square pan. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add the egg and mix until just combined. Pour over cookie dough in pan. Crumble the remaining cookie dough and drop onto cream cheese mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely, store leftovers in fridge.


*I would have taken pictures of these to show you but I made them yesterday and they have already disappeared.

Thankful Thursday

Yesterday's post was a bit lengthy so here are some pictures of things I'm thankful for.

I can't believe this is the only picture I am posting from Easter, but wow that was a long time ago and I am clearly behind on blogging about big events like Easter, May Day and Mother's Day.

But I wanted to post this picture because I am so thankful for my family's tradition of having an egg cracking contest. So, everyone picks a hard-boiled, dyed egg. We set up brackets and everyone gets a chance to stand across from their competition and tap (or smash, depending on your style) their eggs together. Whichever egg doesn't crack moves on to the winner's bracket. Eventually, there is only one egg left. Kent has been the winner for the last couple years! Then we throw the eggs from the deck down into my dad's creek. Silly tradition, I know. But something I look forward to every single year.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to go with Kael's class on their field trip to the farm. It's so fun to see him interacting with his friends.

Two words: Tulip Time

Not a chance I can only write two words about Tulip Time. I tried, but I have to say something about these Poffertjes. I seriously love these little Dutch pancakes that are covered with powdered sugar and butter. I make it my personal mission to go to Tulip Time if not JUST to have a plate full of these delicious little things. Last year I stood in line for a half hour in the rain just to get them! This year, the weather was much better. Also this year, we took the kids to the Lighted Night Parade and it was really cool. It was the first year I thought they'd be able to stay up for the whole thing and sure enough they did!

Hilarious. Above and below. :)

Almost a first grader

I was not one of those moms who cried on the first day of kindergarten. I was so excited for Kael to start a new chapter in his life that crying didn't even cross my mind. Plus, if he would have seen me cry he would have for sure started worrying about why I was leaving him there if it was worth crying about.

That said, the end of the kindergarten year is drawing to a close and I find myself completely unprepared to have a first grader. I have no doubt the tears will start rolling the day I drop him off for his last day of kindergarten. Where did the year go? As I begin compiling a list for Kael's first grade teacher of the ins and outs of Kael's personality and diagnosis, I thought I'd share a few with you all.

Top 5 things Kael would like you to know about him that he can't put into words. (that's a really long title, isn't it?:)

1. Don't tease me. It might seem like I am enjoying it at first but eventually I will become frustrated because I don't understand and there's a good chance you will get bopped. I also don't really understand sarcasm. Really. It's better for everyone if you just don't tease me or be sarcastic with me. My mom has a zero tolerance policy for this kind of stuff so if you mess with me you're going to have to answer to her.

2. If you really want me to hear you, please get down to my level and look me in the eyes. This is very important if you are talking to me about safety issues or a task that you need me to carry out properly. I know it's an extra effort for you to bend down but really, I will understand you so much better.

3. Please don't make me transition at the drop of a hat. If I am expected to stop playing catch and get in the car to go to errands I would greatly appreciate a 5 minute warning. Then go ahead and count it out for me. Please do this for me, especially if I am expected to stop doing something I love and do something I am not excited about.

"Kael in 5 minutes we need to go to the store."

"I don't want to. I'm playing catch."

"I understand Kael, but we need to go so I can get some things for supper. Now we have 3 minutes left."

No response.

"Kael it's almost time to go. We have one minute left so why don't you do two more catches then we'll hop in the van."

"Ok."

4. You already know I have a great memory and right now I am into using that memory to talk about birthdays. If I have ever met you and you have ever told me your age or birthday, there is a very good chance I will remember. I really really really enjoy telling you about all the birthdays I know. I can rattle off the ages of all my extended family and all of my close friends and most of their parents and siblings. I don't understand why you might get tired of listening about birthdays. But I need to be taught that this is not something that people typically talk about exhaustively and I am a fast learner so please help me. ***Here's a sample conversation of how you can help Kael.

"Did you know that my friend Sam is 9 and his birthday is June 14? Also his mom is 31 and his sister Leah is 6. Do you know when her birthday is?"

"No, Kael, I don't."

"It is May 15. Do you know who else has a birthday in May? My grandma Ama. She is 55. My Aunt Chris has a birthday in May too. May 17. "

"That's interesting, Kael. You love to talk about birthdays and it's so cool that you can remember that many ages and birthdays!" (building his ego a little bit here)

"Yeah. Do you know how old my mom is? She's 28 just like my dad."

"I did know that Kael. You really have an amazing memory Kael but I would like to talk about something else. (give him a direction to go with this information) I'd love to hear you tell me about your tee ball game you had on Saturday."

"I have a friend named Joe on my team and he's 6 like me. His birthday is in January."

"That's great Kael but I'd rather hear more about the game than about your friends' birthdays. How about you tell me 2 more birthdays (give him a specific limit) then we're going to talk about how many hits you got in the game."

Hopefully he will tell you a couple more birthdays then talk about tee ball. If he doesn't, then gently remind him, "Kael, I'm done talking about birthdays now. Remember? I said we were going to talk about tee ball now."

5. Sometimes you might ask me a question and I will respond with something completely unrelated.

"Kael, how was school today?"

"Mom, I think Grandpa Terry is a little bit taller than Dad."

This used to frustrate me to no end. I would say, "Kael, did you hear what I said? I didn't ask you about how tall they were. I asked you about school!" But the more time that passes, the better I understand Kael. If you ask him something and he give you an unrelated response, here's what probably happened: he wasn't interested at all in what you were asking (not that he was trying to be rude, but he just doesn't talk about stuff that isn't interesting to him), he didn't hear you, or maybe your question wasn't specific enough for him to know what to say. For example, if I had stopped what I was doing, looked him in the eye and said, "Kael what did you do in PE today?" I would have gotten a much more appropriate response.

Well, there are a few more Kael tips for you. I will try to keep listing these as the summer goes on-it's actually quite helpful for me to blog about them because once the school year starts I can just revisit all these lists I've made and print them out for his new teachers. Hope every post like this helps you understand Kael a little bit better!

Happy Links

I wanted this book so badly when I was about thirteen. Maybe that should have been my first clue that I would be so interested in this idea of happiness because here I am fifteen years later blogging about it.


Here are a few other fun, happy and list-y (aren't things so easy and enjoyable to read in list format?) websites I've been spending my time on.


1000 Awesome Things


Practical Tips for Productive Living


What Money Cannot Buy

Speaking of happy....

Last night we went out boating for the first time this season and Kent caught the first and only fish. And, it was a walleye! How happy was he?!

A big day!

I have mentioned before that Kael's ears are a constant source of discomfort and pain for him. I have also mentioned that we decided to move forward with another set of tubes. So, early this morning we headed to Lakeview Surgery Center for Kael to get tubes and to have his adenoids removed. Poor guy thought there was a chance the place he was going to would be somewhat vacation-like considering it's "Lakeview" name.

I had tried to prepare Kael for what would happen, without going into so much detail that he would worry. For autistic kids, that is such a fine line. It's important for him to be informed so there are no big surprises, but at the same time, if I offer too much information I knew he would be up worrying all night. I touched on some general info before I tucked him in last night and prayed he wouldn't be concerned. Sure enough at about 3:00 this morning he showed up in our room.

He whispered, "Mom, I'm worried it's going to be a long drive to Lakeview."

Bless his heart. Of all the things I thougth he might be worried about, that was not one that had crossed my mind. I tried to recall what I had told him earlier. I was quite sure I hadn't detailed the length of our trip and the unknown was upsetting him. "Kael it's only about a half hour drive, which is just a little bit farther than Mamo's house." I explained.

"Oh. I was worried it would be longer," he said.

I realize tubes are an incredibly low-risk, very minor surgery, but my heart goes out to anyone who has had to wave good-bye to their little ones as they walk down the hall with a nurse. He was so brave. Surgery was short but the doctor had some exciting news for us before we got to go see Kael. When the doctor called me back to talk about how it went, he just smiled and tossed a little blue case to me. I couldn't help but smile too. Kael had lost his first tooth.

Well, "lost" is really not the right word there. The anesthesiologist had to remove it because the tooth was so very loose that it could have presented a choking issue if it came out while Kael was in surgery. I can't stop looking at his handsome little toothless grin. I know every mom thinks their kid is the cutest but one of the nurses actually stopped me in the hall, pulled me aside and gushed, "Your little boy is soooooo handsome!"

And yes, in case you were wondering from the picture, we did go out on the boat tonight. Getting up at 6:00, having surgery, and spending a good part of the morning throwing up (here's something I bet you didn't know: our nurse in recovery informed me today that redheads tend to get more sick after anesthesia than non-redheads. Interesting, huh? I love knowing stuff like that!) sure didn't slow him down.

That kind of a day: take two

We had a busy start to the weekend. Friday night was a couple's baby shower/party so that meant a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's for the kids. Saturday morning Kael had a chilly tee ball game then we all headed to my cousin's wedding a few hours from here. The kids danced 'til they dropped (they can officially add "The YMCA" and "The Twist" to the list of dances they have mastered) and ate more pieces of cake than I could keep track of. Needless to say, when we got home at midnight we were all wiped.

The morning started off with Kent and I awake around 6:00 and Kael and Kylee were sleeping soundly. I can't remember the last time we weren't woken up on the weekend by the kids. It was a wonderful start to the morning- he and I just lounging around trying to be as quiet as mice. Shortly after the kids woke up he headed off to help his dad with some work around the house leaving the kids and I home with no plans. I intended to keep it that way: I vowed not to do any laundry, make any trips to the store, plan any menus for the week or anything like that. Ironically, I recieved no texts, no phone calls and only a handful of (mostly junk) e-mails all day. It was like somehow people just knew I wanted to spend an uninterrupted day with my kids.

Here are a few things I learned from my "nothing" day:

A "picnic" breakfast of cinnamon rolls in front of the TV is as delicious as it sounds. Bonus points if you let your kids put as much frosting as they want on their rolls, then allow them to lick the (plastic) knives clean.

Building forts out of blankets is still a cool thing to do. Flashlight book reading optional but totally fun.

The Question Game is a perfectly enjoyable and a little bit of a sneaky way to find info about about the kids without sounding like an interrogation. My mom sort of invented this game and it's really not a game...but if you call something a game, the kids are more likely to think it's fun. Basically I take turns asking the kids any random, usually one-word-answer type question, then they can ask me a question. It can be something like, "What's your favorite color" or "Who do you usually play with at recess?" I have found out some interesting stuff in the course of this game like that Kael and his buddy at school have nicknames for each other ("He calls me K.K." reported Kael) but that same friend frequently tells Kael "I'm not your best friend anymore." This seemingly simple game helps me help Kael devise solutions for the complex world of kindergarten friendships.

On a rainy day like today, my favorite sweatpants and an old college sweatshirt make a great day even better. Kylee also chose to stay in her nightgown all day, while Kael opted for some "comfies" which are slicks and his favorite soft, worn-in t-shirt.

If I let go and lighten up a bit, the kids have really cool ideas. Completely on their own, they came up with a plan of how to make some Pizza Dipping Sticks (clearly more fun than just plain homemade pizza) for lunch and I let them go to it. The kitchen might have been covered with sauce and shredded cheese but man, did we have fun.

I have clearly passed my love of reading onto my children. After lunch we sat on the couch, all three of us snuggled under a giant quilt, reading books for at least an hour. I read with the kids a lot, but I can't remember the last time we spent a full hour doing so. I wish I had the power to freeze time.

No matter how many different ways I try to explain it, the kids do not understand the joke that their uncle taught them, "You smell like updog". I keep trying to get them to say, "What's updog?" and they just won't.

I am much more pleasant when I'm not running around the house trying to tidy up or do one more load of laundry. I found myself doing things just to make the kids laugh. I was trying to fold a big quilt to put away and the kids kept hopping in the middle of it. Usually I would tell them to hop off so I could finish folding it but today I pretended I didn't see them and pretended that I just couldn't figure out why the quilt had giant "lumps" in it. They laughed and laughed.

By intervening less with the kids disagreements, I am effectively teaching them to be more independent and figure out things for themselves. Instead of always repeating and reminding them of house rules, I tried hard to stay out of it. I also learned that Kylee, in true second child mode, is almost always the one to give in first.

The less I talk, the more they do.

I hope you're having as wonderul of a weekend as I am!

Friday Fun

Kael's teacher e-mailed me the other day and her e-mail started off like this, "Ok crafty lady...." and proceeded to ask my advice on a project she and her daughter were going to do. Me, crafty? What a compliment. I just never considered myself to be crafty. I do, however, know a few crafty people who don't mind me borrowing their ideas. I got this one from my friend Missy's blog. (she is truly a crafty lady!) I had seen the idea for these silhouettes quite awhile ago and knew they would be the perfect gift for Mother's Day. I whipped up 3 copies (Mom, mother-in-law, and of course I had to have a copy for myself, too) in almost no time at all. Adorable!

My cake lady (aka my sister Tammy) was back in town last weekend and we decided it was the perfect time of year to make a Tulip Cake for my mom's birthday. Here's how it went down. I baked the cake the day before and took great care to get it out of the 9 x 13" pan so we could decorate it. It broke right in half. Ugghhh. We, ok, Tammy totally salvaged it and I think it turned out pretty well!

Happy Birthday Ama!

We have had a bunch of friends/family have babies lately and I'm always on the lookout for cute and fun baby gifts. One day I was at Target when I found out that one of the babies had just arrived and I wanted to pick up a gift right then and there. Nothing was striking me in the baby aisle so I threw together a quick "New Mommy Survival Kit". It consisted of a Starbucks gift card, a sleep mask with Sleeping Beauty printed on it, some Godiva chocolates, nail polish and some calming lavendar lotion. I also picked up a little orange Rock Star outfit for the baby (I knew Kael would approve- the gift was for his teacher) and some Hello Kitty chapsticks for the new big sister. I have since given a similar New Mommy Survival gift a couple more times, filling it with stuff that matches the new mom's personality. Why is it so much more fun shopping for other people?


I am in L-O-V-E with this Philadelphia Strawberry Fields No Bake Cheesecake. I made it several times last summer and have already made it once so far this year. I was telling Kent what went in it, really emphasizing the Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, Cool Whip Lite, , and fresh strawberries. He promptly replied, "Well it still has butter and sugar in it so it's really not that healthy, Laura". He might have been right but that didn't stop me from eating a big piece of it for breakfast with my morning coffee. Heavenly.

Have a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I wanted this book so badly when I was about thirteen. Maybe that should have been my first clue that I would be so interested in this idea of happiness and why fifteen years later I'm blogging about it.



Today, I'm thankful for a few other fun, happy and list-y (aren't things so easy and enjoyable to read in list format?) places where I've been spending my time:

1000 Awesome Things



Practical Tips for Productive Living



What Money Cannot Buy


Happy Thursday!

It feels like summer!

I took a deep, heavy breath in. After a wonderfully long day of playing outside, Kael smelled exactly the way 6 year old boy should- a combination of dirt, grass, sunscreen and sweat. "You smell like summer," I told him. And it was wonderful.

I was curious about some carnival music that I had been hearing. There are lots of parks nearby so you never know what might be going on around here....turns out it was an ice cream truck! Fantastic!

I glanced in our medicine cabinet and noticed these. "Was there a band-aid sale recently?" you might wonder. Nope. We actually need all of these band-aids. We are barely a couple weeks into short/skirt season and Kylee's poor legs are scraped, bumped and bruised. Oh, Kylee Grace. :)

I am rockin' a mid-summer tan and it's only the middle of May. It's one of the perks of the job that I get to be outside supervising slip and slide fun then subsequently doling out icees!

Happiness Project

Lighten Up: Today it hit the 80s and this mama was not prepared to evidently skip spring this year. Oh well, we jumped right into summer mode and busted out all of the water guns Kael had gotten for his birthday. Each of us was armed with a Super Soaker, prepared for battle. I was the only one not in a swimsuit as I was not really anticipating being an active part of the battle. It's just that we had four new water guns and there are four of us, so I felt like I had to at least hold a water gun. As I was explaining to the kids, "Please don't shoot at Mommy's clothes; if you must shoot my feet/legs that's completely fine, but-" I was cut off mid-sentence by a blast to my fully clothed mid-section. You're thinking it was Kael or Kylee. Wrong. It was Kent. And I was M-A-D.

Through clenched teeth I asked him how he expected the kids to follow the rules when he was clearly unwilling to do so. I rattled off a lengthy, huffy explanation of how very wrong he was and in the middle of all my ranting, I knew, I just knew I should drop it, smile and have a carefree, "oh well, I'm wet now, so might as well just get wetter" attitude but I just couldn't.

And with that I managed to squash all the fun out of our first family water gun fight of the season. I turned a perfectly joyful evening into a pouty one and everyone's mood soon reflected mine. Why couldn't I have just laughed it off? It's not like I was in nice clothes or it's not like I had to be somewhere soon and didn't have time to change clothes. I vow to lighten up- especially with summer upon us! There is too much fun to be had for me to be so serious all the time.

Kent let me overreact and said nothing. He just listened and then even said, "I'm sorry, Laura. I really am. I was just messing around and didn't realize you'd be so upset if you got a little wet." Oh how I love him. He gets me.

Mother's Day....

...must be over because Kylee just said to me, "Mom you smell bad." I gave her the look and she quickly held her arms out and said, "Well, you only smell about this much bad". I still gave her the look.

At least she's honest.

Friday Fun

I spent the morning baking a cake for my mom's birthday, crafting some flowers out of foam sheets for a teacher's gift and planting flowers. It's Friday and the sun is shining and I'm in a much better mood so I thought I'd share some fun things I've been up to.

Kael had a long term sub when his teacher had a baby and the sub's last day is today. She was so wonderful and a few of us moms wanted to show how much she was apprecaited. I found this and thought it would be so cool to do! We each picked up a couple gift cards and then we also added a few seed packets in the flower slots I made. Really fun and I know it will be things she can use. Bonus, after the gift cards are gone, she'll still have a lovely plant and I'm sure every time she looks at it she'll think of Kael's class.

Everybody kind of has a "thing". Maybe you're a workout queen, maybe you dig DIY stuff, maybe you love all things crafty...well somehow cake decorating has become my thing. I know I have plenty of room for improvement, but I really enjoy doing it. And even though cake might not be everyone's favorite dessert, I do think people I make cakes for are genuinely honored that I spend the time making/decorating something just for them.

It all started when my sister and I made this cake for Kylee's birthday. Tammy is the one who deserves all the credit here- I baked the cake and was present for the decorating, but the work was mostly hers.

Since Tammy was still living in Ankeny at the time, we were kind of on a cake kick and made this one for my dad. Very appropriate since we celebrated on Superbowl Sunday!

Next, I did this one for my mom on her birthday last year (next week I'll post pictures of the cake I made today) and was really happy with how it turned out. I used a fluffy pudding frosting (recipe courtesy of Tammy) that was delicious!

The kids and I made this cake for my father-in-law who loves baseball. He was a coach for a lot of years and his October birthday was the perfect time to make this cake. You can't see it very well in the picture so I'll describe it: It's a double-layer cake with white frosting and red M & M's for the stitching in the baseball.

Kael's guitar cake this year was one of my favorites. We had that cake at his party at The Playground, but for a family party at the bowling alley, I made these sport themed cupcakes.

My mother-in-law's birthday was just a couple weeks ago and Kylee helped me create this fun cake! It's a 9" cake on bottom with 12 cupcakes stacked on top- all frosted in different colors. The jelly beans were Kylee's idea. :)

Happy Friday everyone!

Thankful Thursday...sort of

After *this* , here's how the rest of my day went.

Our garbage disposal broke. Later that day I forgot it was broken and was trimming up some chicken for supper and let some raw chicken pieces go down the drain. That was a big mistake.

The door to the kids shower broke. It literally fell right off the hinge. Thank goodness the kids weren't in the bath at the time.

I was trying to brighten my spirits- bought some spring flowers and as I was unloading them I somehow tripped on our big Hawkeye rock in our front yard and cut my leg.

I didn't realize at the time I had actually broken skin, so I just hopped in the van to run my next errand and soon felt my leg stinging. Looked down and there was blood. Checked my purse and I was out of band-aids. Awesome.

Back home I was rearranging some picture frames in yet another attempt to boost my happiness. I swear I didn't drop it, but somehow the glass in one of the frames cracked and broke all over the floor in our carpeted family room. At least I didn't cut myself.

Kylee was trying to take our Power Wheels tractor over a ramp we have (the type Kael usually rides his bike over) and she misjudged the width, slid off the side of the ramp and the tractor landed on top of her. Don't worry, she's OK!!!

Kael had an appointment with the ENT yesterday and we have decided to do another set of ear tubes and also remove his adenoids. I firmly believe that money is no object when it comes to your kids' health. I am thrilled with our decision to do this, but in the back of my mind, when I hear the word surgery I see a lot of $$$ signs and I know we're heading into summer when I don't watch any kids which means I don't get paid.

Well friends, if you've stuck with me this far in this Debbie Downer of a post...hang in there....

I am so thankful for people in my life who refuse to let me get down on myself. I am blessed with a network of people who offer to help, offer to steal the kids for an hour so I can catch up on things, offer to take me out to lunch, offer to bring over a bottle of wine and listen to me complain. For all of you, I am more thankful than you might ever know.

I am so thankful for cinco de mayo. I ate at Cazador with my grandma, mom, sister, niece, Kylee and Ryan today for lunch.

I am really thankful for Kylee's Mother's Day program at her preschool. She sure made me feel like one special Mommy. If you're thinking she's the cutest one there, I happen to agree. :)

On one final good note- I was balancing my checkbook this morning and realized I miscalculated and found $300 in my favor. Now that's a good day. And I know there are plenty more of those ahead.

That kind of day

It's easy for me to write about the fun things we do as a family, crafty projects (speaking of- whoops! I haven't written about Easter or May Day yet! I'll try to get to that someday...) or cute stories about the kids.

Today I don't feel like that.

It's that kind of a day:

Kael sleepily rolled out of bed and blindly walked into the bathroom. A minute later I hear, "Sorry Mom. I'll clean it up." I'll give you one guess what happened. (If you're thinking he missed the toilet you're thinking right.)

The laundry is already piled three feet high and I need to add to that all the sheets to wash for the week. (that's usually a Monday job and here it is already Wednesday...)

Kael spilled his graham crackers and milk all over the counter after I had just asked him to move his cup so he wouldn't tip it over.

I had a quick hour to go shopping for myself and found that NOTHING fit right.

I knew I was a little grumpy and I had one tanning session left so I went.

When I was crabbing to Kent about needing to get back into running so my clothes fit again He Who Usually Says The Right Thing looked at me, smiled and said, "Well, your love handles look tan." That is not a joke. He ACTUALLY said that. I laughed, hard. And I felt better.

More Happiness Commandments

I have a few more to add to this list.

Say sorry: I have a tendency to always be right. (Even if I'm not completely right, chances are I'm not going to give in until you agree with me or at least see my side...) This is fine, until of course, I'm wrong. In which case I find it incredibly difficult to apologize. The words "I'm sorry" do not fall freely from my lips. However, I have found that I can not only boost my happiness, but REALLY boost Kent's happiness if I just buck up and say it.



One minute rule: This is less of a commandment and more of a helpful tip. The idea is that if it takes me less than one minute to do a task, I do it immediately. For example, I keep all the kids important school papers filed downstairs, separated in giant Ziplocs by school year. I dislike the task of deciding which papers are important enough to keep, let alone walk the ten steps downstairs to file them. So now, every day when the kids are done with school, I immediately sort their things- some artwork gets hung up, some papers get filed and some I get rid of (not very many fall into this category!). It is so much easier doing it right away then trying to fumble through giant stacks of their work whenever I got around to it. Until I started applying this one minute rule, I had no idea how many things I was putting off. If it's going to take you less than a minute- do it! I promise you'll be happy!



Stop glory seeking: Kent and I are both middle children and our personalities are quite similar. He LOVES for me to tell him what a good job he did. At anything. One day he called me and his story started like this, "Well, the old kindness bug has bitten again..." and proceeded to rattle off a list of nice things he had done that day. I scolded him, "It's not genuine kindness if you're doing it just so you can call me and have me tell you how good you are!" Here's the embarassing part- I'm even more guilty of this than he his. I'm trying harder to do things because I WANT to do them, not because I'm secretly hoping someone will tell me "Good job!"

My son Tacky

Have any of you read the children's book Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester? Kael's special ed teacher had mentioned this book to me a long time ago and I only recently got around to checking it out of the library. Oh how I wish I would have checked it out sooner! The idea behind the book is that "It's ok to be different" which is not a new concept but the way it is displayed in this book is just so....Kael.

I love this book and so does Kael. He actually laughed out loud when Tacky sings a silly song in the book. I haven't heard him laugh that hard in years. We read it again and again and again. So here's the quick storyline: there's a penguin named Tacky who doesn't quite fit in with his graceful companions. He greets other penguins loudly, does not dive or march quite as neatly as his friends, and sings loud, silly songs. Then, hunters come for the penguins but Tacky and his odd behaviors trick the hunters into leaving them alone. The last sentence of the book says, "Tacky was an odd bird but a very nice bird to have around."

I just LOVE that. Sure, some of Kael's behaviors are a little quirky. When he gets older he might be seen as a little bit eccentric. I hope everyone who knows Kael thinks, "Kael is a quirky kid, but a very nice kid to have around."

Read the book. And if you happen to see Kael, start singing, "How many toes does a fish have?" and get ready to see the biggest smile ever.