Gratitude Sunday

Joining Taryn today at wooly moss roots for Gratitude Sunday~

Things I am Grateful for Today
1. FINALLY a warm and sunny day, the snow melting
2. Kids playing outside on bikes and scooters and playing road hockey
3. Time together as a family in Stratford, ON

(votive holders at Ten Thousand Villages in Stratford, ON)
4. Almost, almost finishing my Holden Shawlette on the car ride
5. Chocolates from Chocolate Barr's in Stratford. Decadent, so decadent!
6. 5 delicious jars of bean and bacon soup sitting in the fridge for my lunches this week
7. Cleaning out all the refined sugar in our house. Our doctor recommends that The Em-ster avoid refined sugar in hopes it will improve how she feels and how she behaves. No argument here!
8. Making time for myself to read and work through the tasks in The Artist's Way.
9. Time to play with word art.

10. A belated Christmas gift from a friend.

(Behold, my almost finished Holden Shawlette and a sheep yarn bowl-how awesome is that??!!!)

Mothering in real life

Sometimes my day feels like I've run the gamut. I get up and take a shower and get dressed all with a to-do list streaming through my head over and over again "need to make oatmeal, need to make lunches, don't forget to sign the kids' planners, make sure the Em-ster has her snowpants, remain calm at work, it's only for 8 hours then you can come home, don't forget to take the meat out of the freezer for dinner" That sort of thing. If I can somehow get my lunch and breakfast sorted out and by some miracle get The Em-ster into the car by 7:20 I am doing well. If I can do that, wipe the counter and The Em-ster is still in a good mood then I am buying a lottery ticket! The Em-ster does not like to be rushed and will snarl and will slow down on purpose making me late for work. Again.

Once I get to work it's 8 hours of mind-numbing boredom with another to do list running through my head depending on the day "have to get out by 4:30 to pick up The Em-ster by 5, make dinner, clean up, make sure homework is being done, bedtimes start at 8 and maybe, maybe, maybe I can sit down and knit for 5 mins while they are doing silent reading and then maybe, maybe, maybe once everyone is in bed I can climb into bed and read my own book for 1/2 an hour"

Moms, you know what I'm talking about! 

What really happens is what happened tonight. I was in the middle of dinner preparation, The Em-ster grabbed her roller blades but NOT her helmet and headed out the door. You can see the confrontation a mile away. You know if you can just get the wording and the tone right she'll come in and put her helmet on and then you can keep right on cooking dinner and the neighbours won't hear your dysfunctional parenting all the way down the street. But instead His Lordship yells out the door "Where's your helmet?? Come in and put on your helmet"and all is lost. The Em-ster came storming in the house already in a bad mood because her best friend wasn't at After-school care today, she grabs her helmet, claims she "doesn't need a freaking helmet, you idiot" and flies out the door again. Sigh.

No parent can or should ignore the "you idiot" part of that exchange. His Lordship orders her back in (so the whole neighbourhood can hear) and takes away the roller blades for a month because he's tired from a long day and sick of being called an idiot. 

This is what parenting actually looks like in my house. No sugar-coating it today. We're doing our best and some days we win and all is peaceful and some days we struggle to balance our own issues with our sensitive kids' natures.

No one said this was going to be easy.

No one tells you all this when you casually say that maybe you'd like to have kids.

Maybe they do but you don't hear them-hmmnm?

There is a reason babies are so soft and sweet and just smell so darn good because if they weren't and didn't and came out as 9 and 12 year olds the human race would end awfully quickly!!

What we Teach Our Children

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth in our household tonight from The Boy about finances. He is wanting a new pocket knife but doesn't have enough to pay for it from his own funds. It was interesting to see his thought process and how what we've taught him has sunken through the layers. First he asked if there was some way for him to earn the money he was short. I told him he should check with his aunt and Oma and see if they needed some jobs done that they would be willing to pay him for. Then he asked if I could just give him the money. I told him we don't get paid again for another week and that wasn't going to work as we'd like to eat and put gas in the car, not to mention have enough money in the bank to cover the outstanding cheque for his summer Scout camp. Then he asked about money owed to him. I found it interesting how the whole conversation made me squirm a bit from having to say we couldn't afford to just give him money to how yes, we did owe him money for the use of his camera but couldn't pay him right now. Our own relationships with money get laid bare when having these types of conversations with our children. I am heartened by some of the things I can see he's learned such as how money is earned through hard work and that saving up for something is important (delayed gratification).
We live within our means, making sure our bills are paid each month and that we are both home each night for dinner. We don't have much extra right now so what little that is left over after bills and groceries has to be carefully spent. Some months that means a new furnace filter and shoes for growing feet and some months that means we go out for breakfast as a family because we need a treat.
I think my children will learn more from growing up in a thrifty home than if we gave them every opportunity we could and worried about how we would pay the mountain of credit card debt needed to make them "well rounded adults". What do you think?

Of a Tuesday night

Tonight being His Lordship's evening off I have done the following:
-cleaned up after dinner and run the dishwasher
-baked cinnamon-raisin pinwheels to gift a friend visiting tomorrow
-overseen as The Boy baked brownies (oh if you could smell the heavenly smell in my house right now!)
-summoned up great reserves of self-control and not eaten even the tiniest taste of brownies or the flaky-buttery-sweet goodness that is those pinwheels as I gave up wheat for Lent.
-counted down the number of days left until Lent is over (still 3 weeks left-oh the smell of those brownies!)
-guided homework time for the Em-ster (think: herding cats)
-put 2 kids to bed
-knitted 2 rows on a shawlette knit from some random worsted weight yarn found in my stash the colour of which reminds of cherry popsicles. Just what I needed on this cold, snowy day at the end of this unending winter
Now that all that is done and the house is peaceful and quiet it's time to do things for me. I'm thinking a wee snack, some doodling and then it's off to bed with my book. I've been reading Debbie Macomber lately and while her writing reminds me of how a little old lady would talk the stories are simple and satisfying and don't keep me up at night. It's the little things in life I think.

Sunday night

Ugh, 8pm on Sunday night and I feel like I've been run over by a truck. This is not a good way to start a week. I won't complain about the headache that won't go away or the unending tiredness I am still fighting with. Instead I will tell you about what I've been up to this week.
I began reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I first read it in my 20's (I don't remember why-maybe everyone was reading it?) and remember getting up early for awhile to write my "morning pages". Morning pages are 3 pages of stream of consciousness writing meant to get all the trash out of your mind before you start your day. I've been feeling empty and dissatisfied all winter and I've had this overwhelming urge to write but write what??? A small voice in the back of my mind told me reading The Artist's Way might help me to figure it out. For a week I have been getting up at (gasp) 6am to write morning pages.
It's funny how I can get up early to write 3 pages of complaints about having to get up early and all the things I need to do that day but I can't get up early to exercise which is something I used to enjoy. I blame the dark mornings and this never-ending winter.
I do feel more open to things everyday now but mostly I have this overwhelming urge to Make Things that I haven't experienced in a long time. I love quotes and collect them on Pinterest but now I need (NEED) to make them into something beautiful on paper. I wish I could show you but I can't as the memory in my computer is full to the brim and I haven't had time to remedy that. Hopefully this week. A blog without pictures is like cake without the icing. Nice but better with.
One of my assignments this week was to go on an artists date. So I took myself to a writing and gift store in Waterloo that I've been thinking about for awhile. They have an aisle of beautiful blank books and one of just pens. How great is that?! I love blank books and pens.
Well, the time is creeping on and I need to get these kids into bed.
Wishing you all whatever it is that sustains you for the week ahead, be it knitting, reading or just plain sleep!

Maybe ADHD Part 2, Plus Some Daydreaming

Today I met with our family doctor to discuss the Em-ster's symptoms and see what the next steps would be. To be absolutely honest my assumption was she would refer me to a pediatrician or some specialist and the Em-ster would sit on a waiting list for awhile. Instead my doctor asked about major changes in our lives (none), bullying at school (none), does she hate going to school and resist homework (yes!). Then she told me to remove all simple sugars from her diet. I hadn't thought of that although we don't generally have a lot of simple sugars in our house and diet anyway. The Em-ster and I do like to bake together however so that's going to require some creativity as I think we need to do things that are positive and bolster our relationship. I know honey is a problem for her. Maple syrup seems to be fine. I haven't really experimented with other options. She does have a problem with sugar and tends to binge on it whenever she can get her hands on it which is something I'm trying to figure out how to deal with in a healthy way.
Next my doctor asked if we have any health coverage and I said not a lot. She sighed and said there is such a long wait list for children to be assessed for ADHD. Not good. So before I see her next I need to get the Em-ster's eyes and hearing checked to rule those possibilities out then get a blood test done to rule out a thyroid problem. So many things I hadn't thought of. Well, to be honest I had but I tend to think of so many things all at once that I only really listen to the ones yelling in my ear. I sometimes miss the small, quiet, really important things. Sigh.
So that's my update. I'm grateful that we're moving forward but I also feel slightly overwhelmed at all the things I need to get done that require time and energy of which I feel are in short supply. Our lives are far too busy and I crave simplicity right now.
Every summer we spend a week at our cottage in the middle of nowhere. It really is in the middle of nowhere and takes 8 hours to get there from our home in Southern Ontario. Once we're there though it's quiet and unpopulated and blissful. There's no running water except that which we pump from a hand pump. The electricity comes from a few solar panels we have but mostly we use oil lamps and headlamps for light at night. The toilet is a composting one in the woodshed. We spend our days outside puttering and simple things like cooking and cleaning take longer and are actually a pleasure. At night we all sit on the couch in front of the picture windows and watch the sun go down over the lake and watch night come in. It is so relaxing and peaceful and....simple. I wish I could bottle it and sell it. I would make a fortune.
It is at this time of the year when winter has become unwelcome and spring is slow in coming and I am feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done in a day that I miss our week at the cottage the most.

A Scouting family

Some families are soccer families, some families are hockey families. We are a Scouting family and by that I mean our kids are both involved in Scouts Canada, formerly known as Boy Scouts of Canada.
The Boy began as a beaver when he was 5:

and continues on as a Scout today. I like the sense of self esteem it instills with the earning of badges, all the outside activities they do and the importance of volunteering in one's community. His passion is for the outdoors; it's what he lives and breathes and talks about constantly. I couldn't be happier (although a break from the talking occasionally would be nice).
The Em-ster started out in the Girl Guide movement when she was 5 as a Spark. I was heavily into Girl Guides through high school and I wanted her to know the same sense of care and we-can-do-it attitude I had loved. I wanted her to go camping in an all-girls environment and know that she didn't need boys around all the time to start the fire or steer the canoe. Sparks was fine. Lots of games and crafts and fun. She moved onto Brownies and I thought "great, time for the camps" but it was still lots of games and crafts and some community activism but where were the weekend camps? In buildings or tents, I didn't care! I came to the conclusion that either the movement had changed since I was involved in it or I hadn't found the right groups. After her first year of Brownies she asked if she could join Cubs instead. I hesitated. What about doing things with only girls? What about the cameraderie? I decided to let her try and see how it went because what she wanted was to go camping just like her brother.
She loved it and went camping 3 times the first year!

She's in her second year now and says she likes it but would maybe like to try Guides in the fall and see how that is. I know she feels a bit weird sometimes being only one of two girls in the Cub pack. I leave these things up to her to decide. I will do some research first to see if I can find a unit that does go camping so she can maybe experience something of the old Guiding magic.
Other families play sports, we earn badges, go on group hikes and send our kids to camp.

Maybe ADHD?

When I was at home with The Boy after the Em-ster was born it was a challenge. That's putting it lightly. He was so active and so prone to melt downs and into EVERYTHING.

It was exhausting. By the time he began going to kindergarten we had it more or less under control or at least were used to our "normal". His teachers could all see that something was up and put into practice all the strategies they had at their disposal and helped to get him a psychological assessment. By the time he was in Grade 1 we had a name for his collection of symptoms: Asperger's Syndrome. Looking back 6 1/2 years later it all seemed to fall into place so nicely. At 12 1/2 The Boy is fairly calm, able to self-advocate and is pretty easy to deal with. Now that we've got him all sorted out it seems it's his sister's turn.
I thought I would share with you today my journey thus far with our second child. All seemed to be going along smoothly until this year. This year we started to see an escalation in melt downs, mood swings and trouble sleeping. At school she dazes off, has trouble finishing her work and is bouncy. It's been a stressful year for all of us and I thought it was just a compatibility problem with the teacher but after several meetings with her teacher and one with the principal it seems that's not it. It seems there's something else going on there. Like all good mothers I of course turned to my friend Google and began researching her symptoms. I began Googling all the syndromes that might explain why she behaves the way she does. I started with Asperger's but that didn't fit. I tried Bipolar Disorder, also no. Then I tried ADHD. Wow. That felt like the right fit. I researched further, took out books from the library and read everything I could. They describe her to a tee. Especially the emotional side of the disorder that I had no idea existed. I just knew about the fidgety-inattentive side. I am taking it all with a grain of salt because we don't have a diagnosis and I don't want to head in a direction of thinking in case I'm wrong. I know my girl very well though. The tact I'm taking is that information is power and if I follow some of the suggestions in these books it's not likely to hurt. Especially the ones that tell me I need to be especially calm, cool and collected with her. That I need to be aware of how situations affect her such as a trip to the grocery store or library. There are a lot of choices in these places and a lot of distractions to overwhelm her. I know that long car trips without breaks are agonizing for her and so I make sure we stop a few times. Stuff like that.

                                                     (We all have skills-this is hers ;))
This is what I know and do so far. I hope hearing about my journey will help you with your journey. On Friday I have an appointment with our family doctor to see what the first step is to get an assessment.

The Best Thing we ever did as parents...

I'm not sure how long we've been doing this (maybe 4 years?) and I'm not sure who thought of this (His Lordship?) but at some point we instituted an idea we call My Night (very original and creative, I know). One designated night of the week, one of us gets up from the dinner table and is free from all parenting and house-keeping responsibilities and the other one is in charge. It's a beautiful thing let me tell you! Cleaning up from dinner, dealing with all the dishes and putting both kids to bed solo are totally worth it knowing my night is coming in just a couple of days. I think we must've been burned out from the challenges of parenting these 2 kids and between the two of us we weren't very effective or happy parents. But knowing you're free to pursue your passions for a whole night once a week gives you energy to spend in the other areas of your life. My night is Friday and I love ending the week this way and getting ready for the weekend with a full cup. Especially if it's before a Saturday His Lordship is scheduled to work.
The one thing I didn't foresee given our circumstances was actually enjoying the nights I was in charge. I kept thinking about all the work to be done and the hassles of guiding (policing?) bedtime on my own but once the dishes are done and the dishwasher started there's time for reading out loud or game playing before bedtime and I enjoy that time when it's just me and The Boy and the Em-ster. It took a while for me to get to that place. I also discovered that there is a sweet spot in his night. It's the moment The Boy is tucked in bed when I come downstairs and all is quiet in the house. I know I have 1/2 an hour, 30 whole minutes of alone time before I have to head to bed myself. It's in that time that I have begun to meditate or journal again depending on what I need to do that night. What a blessing to find that time to look after myself.
Who knew a little idea that on the surface meant not having to slog through the evening grind would produce such rewards?!

Trying

Today I am trying to:
Remember that this winter will not last forever,  that this new dose of snow and cold is only temporary and in a month from now there will be robins and bare, muddy ground and maybe even crocuses poking up their heads. The kids will be outside more than inside doing stuff like this:

Keep in mind that most things are only temporary like money being tight and these kids talking always in my ear. That one day in the all too near future The Boy will not be around so much and I will miss hearing all about his week at Grandma and Grandpa's house and being "made" to watch the Rick Mercer Report. And once that car is paid off we will have extra money again.

Maintain a positive attitude because I may not always love my job or cleaning toothpaste spit off the bathroom sink but it's not all that bad at the end of the day. A positive attitude changes everything including the people around you. The trick is to find the happy and hold onto it.

Relax and do what I want to do instead of what I think I should do. I always see the messes that need to be cleaned up, and the lunch that needs to be made and I tire myself out so I have nothing left to give. Today I will knit some and read some and the messes can be cleaned up tomorrow.

Advice from this side of the snugli

Friends of ours are pregnant with their first child. My feelings upon hearing this news were surprisingly mixed. At first I thought "that's so great" because I love babies and I have a hankering to hold one. Then I thought "Wow are they in for a ride!" because parenting is no easy gig. Rewarding yes, but not easy.
I was trying to think what I would give them as a gift and quickly dismissed the usual onesies, sleepers and toys. They'll get all that from doting relatives and friends. I remember when my own children were small that we didn't have much extra money and I only bought 2 toys for them until they were 3. I also remember depending on birthday and Christmas gifts to fill their closets with what they needed for clothing. Thrift shops were even out of the question, we were so tight for money. While it was hard in those early years I don't think my children wanted for anything. They had a few toys that we rotated, plenty of books and enough clothing to get through the season. What we did receive was very much appreciated and well looked after. So from my perspective, what to give as a meaningful gift that would be truly appreciated? This is what I've come up with so far:

A blank book and a pen-for recording firsts, memories and little stories. My mother in law has filled 2 blank books with stories of her days with my son when he was small. I have books filled with odds and ends that I love to revisit. There are things in there that I would never have remembered if I hadn't taken 2 bleary-eyed moments to write down.

Parenting books-my favourites are The Baby Book by Dr. Bill Sears. Everything from the value of attachment parenting to what Fifth's Disease looks like. Also Raising Your Kids Without Raising Your Voice by Sarah Chana Radcliffe. I've read a lot of great parenting books and this one worked the best for us. Kids are Worth It by the great Barbara Colorosa. It's never too early to start talking about rules and discipline with your significant other.

Kleenex-I always seem to be running out of it at the worst moments!

Coupons for a year's worth of free babysitting-new parents get so caught up in looking after the new person in their life that they forget to look after their relationship. Never mind the cost of a babysitter when you're down to maternity leave pay and one income.

What would you give a new parent that you yourself would have appreciated as a new parent?? What do you wish someone had told you when your first baby showed up on the scene?

Snowshoeing in Rosseau

This past weekend we went up to my parents' house in Rosseau to drop The Boy off for the week. It's March Break in our neck of the woods and he had arranged months ago to spend the week with them. The weather was beautiful-bright and sunny and not stupid cold. I borrowed some snowshoes from work so we could do some bush-wacking.
The Em-ster was all excited to try them out but the timing of our first attempt was bad. She had just gotten into trouble with her Dad for bothering her brother. We call it "poking the bear" or instigating. If she doesn't have anything else to do she'll find him and do whatever she can to get a response. All the better if it's a full-on losing of his cool. Having just arrived after almost 4 long hours in the car I was not paying attention to what was going on and when I clued in was really just hoping it would stop on it's own. I'm an optimist you see and tired. Fat chance. Anyway, by the time she'd gotten an earful from her dad she was pretty upset. Not a good time to try new things. Lesson learned. It was one of those times where I could see it coming a mile away but was hoping the distraction of these snowshoes would be enough to set her to rights again but I should've known better. Distractions do not work with this child of mine when she is in an oppositional mood. IF she has ADHD, which I strongly suspect she does then Oppositional Defiant Disorder would be her co-morbid. This of course is my extremely unprofessional opinion!
Needless to say the first attempt resulted in a melt down and everyone giving up and going inside. Sometimes you just have to know when to give up.
The next morning after a sleep and some breakfast she said to me "Can we try the snowshoeing again? I think I understand now how they work and I want to try." That's my girl. And try again we did. Just her and I and it was lovely to be there together.

Sometimes that's what we all need-the chance to try again after some sleep and bacon.

Let's talk about money shall we?

I just sat down to get a handle on the family finances for this coming payperiod and it seems we'll be alright. Over the past several months I've taken a real interest in our budget after almost 14 years of leaving it to His Lordship. It just seemed easier and less overwhelming to let him deal with it all. Ostrich with her head in the sand? Yup that was me. Not very responsible or grown up but I just couldn't handle seeing how things actually were.

After reading countless books on how to manage family finances I decided it was time to try it for myself. Wow. What an eye opener. Do you know we bought 18 bottles of laundry soap last year? and we've been buying the super expensive, scent-free, environmentally friendly kind. Ouch. It's the little everyday decisions that really add up.
Beyond making a budget and meal-planning and grocery lists I learned a few lessons between the lines of all those books. One of the best ones I read although I didn't realize it at the time was Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach, the author of Simple Abundance.

(Does this photo look familiar?)
She shares her story of financial success and subsequent down-ward spiral after Simple Abundance became a best seller. One of the best concepts I got from that book was that money is precious and almost like a living thing. If you want it to stay in your life you need to treat it well and with respect. In other words: spend mindfully.
Another book I read taught me to regard every cent as valuable. Look at the actual amount of income and expenses instead of just rounding up or down to make the math easier. Take those extra cents and put them in a jar. They will eventually add up to something significant. We once paid for a steak dinner out of our change jar. Mind you, we couldn't go back to that restaurant for awhile after leaving $100 in rolled change to pay the bill but it was well worth it!
We work really hard to live within our means. We hardly ever eat out, we don't have tv and we often have to say no to each other when someone wants something. But that's just how it is. We also don't have any debt except our car and mortgage.
I think we live a simpler and less stressful life because we don't have a lot of extra money in our lives. There's a lot of front-stoop-sittin' that goes on in the summer and lots of game-playing and reading that goes on in the winter. We almost always eat dinner as a family at home and our summer holidays are spent at our family cottage where the only extra expense is the gas to get there. It's not a bad life ;)

Do you live hour by hour or day by day?

I had a great conversation tonight with my neighbour who is the mom of an 8 year old and a 15 year old and works full time as well. We compare notes on the rare occasion when we're both not running someone somewhere or trying to get the laundry done or trying to squeeze 2 mins in to do whatever thing it is we do to relax. Tonight I found myself in her kitchen getting instructions on caring for their cat while they went on a family March Break trip and the topic of day by day or hour by hour came up. I definitely know I am now just dealing day by day. My main thoughts are normally about what on earth I am going to pack for lunches, making sure the Emster is on task with her homework and not distracted and getting the dishes washed so our house will not smell like fried onions the next day. I must look to the outside world like the most disorganized parent, always late with permission forms for field trips and cheques for just about everything. But really I am just trying to get by each day making sure everyone is fed, clothed and the most important of tasks are done. It feels like survival parenting most days. I have a list a mile long of Shoulds but there is no way they are getting done and I am getting very good at prioritizing!
My neighbour told me she lives very much hour by hour. With so much going on and people needing so much from her plus her own needs it's how she gets by she says. My neighbour is a loving mother with 2 well adjusted children (at least from my side of the street anyway ;)) so she must be doing something right. But I know we both face the same time challenges. You want to do so much for your kids but there are only 24 hours in a day and you have to sleep 7-8 of them. Something's gotta give.
The whole conversation began when her husband showed me a picture of our daughters together shortly after we moved to our house. They were 4 and 5 then and now they're 8 and 9 and their older daughter is now 15. I mentioned university and driving and she said she's no where near that place in her head yet. Day by day?? forget it! How about hour by hour?! I can understand that. The Boy is off to high school the year after next but I can't begin to think about that when we're still trying to figure out Grade 7.
I do know that more important than permission slips, cheques for end of year trips and lunches is time at the end of the day with these kids. Time to discuss their highlights and lowlights and time to listen to their worries and what they're excited about. Even homework can wait.

ups and downs

It has been a week of ups and downs my friends.
On the up side:
1. I finally sewed up and washed my stripy mittens that have been 3 months in the making. This is a sure sign that spring will finally come now that I have 2 pairs of mittens off the needles.

(my apologies for the less-than-fantastic photos-the mittens are drying on this old towel and it's 9:30pm)

2. Last night I stumbled across a pattern for a 1 hour crocheted cowl and being one who loves a challenge I began...at 10pm. The pattern called for thick wool and all I had was bright, shocking fuchsia. I crocheted like crazy and sure enough 1 hour later I had me a cowl!

(I'm thinking I should steal 2 buttons like the top button off another sweater I knit so I'm all matchy)
3. My house is clean again :)
4. I made a most fabulous lasagna with 4 different vegetables crammed into it and served it with a side salad to make sure everyone had their 5 servings of fruits of vegetables.

And on the downside:
1. I am exhausted.
2. My beautiful "That Weasley Girl" sweater I was knitting for the Em-ster? It's too (sob) small. I even knit a gauge swatch and I never knit gauge swatches because I hate knitting gauge swatches and it's still  too (sob) small. But being me, and unable to not complete anything I've started, I will finish it and then start a new one 4 sizes bigger than the pattern and my gauge swatch say it should be because I don't think I can handle this kind of disappointment and waste of knitting energy twice.
3. There has not been much in the way of peace between The Boy and the Em-ster this week. That is exhausting too.
4. I turned down a job I was really excited about but didn't pay enough to keep this growing family in groceries and hydro. Sigh.

Downside #3 was probably the hardest to deal with this week. The sibling rivalry and arguing in this house is constant it seems. I've never seen 2 children so unable to get along and so willing to find ways to drive each other absolutely crazy. The Boy will stick his face in her face and make the most irritating noises until she loses it. The Em-ster will sneak into his room and take little things that don't mean much but drive him crazy because he knows she's been in there. There are days they can't even eat dinner at the same table because the fighting is so intense.

                                                                (a rare moment of peace)
Tell me-what do you do to foster peace between siblings in your house? How do you parent two kids who are hell-bent on driving each other crazy? And what about the neuro-typical kid who perhaps has a chip on her shoulder about her brother, the Aspergian?
In the meantime-off to bed, the two of them!!