monday's musings...

things i am loving about this week (extended edition):

1. taking an uninterrupted shower in the morning to start the day.  i can't remember the last time that there was no one anxiously awaiting my return to fulfill some sort of need while i take a shower.  or the last time i took one without some sort of audience.
2. kyle's ability to fix my mistakes.  even if he doesn't understand how they happen. 
3. finley singing and dancing with her "bow bow".
4. oliver jack's imagination explosion.  he is constantly making up stories and acting them out.
5. my dad celebrating his 50th birthday!  ~happy birthday~
6. finally being able to braid harper's hair again...i was starting to go through withdrawal.
7. making simple changes that make dramatic differences in my the ability my children have to tackle certain challenges.  mainly those challenges are calvary's but the solutions help everyone! our latest success has been with dinner.  i have started to make simple desserts, like jello, which are offered as motivation to fulfill the new dinner rule: everyone can pick one thing of which only to have one bite.  they have to eat a healthy amount of everything else.  i don't fully understand why it has made such a dramatic effect on calvary's ability to make it through a meal but it has.  i imagine it has something to do with his love of routine and and love for rules.  even though he might be totally disturbed by the meal we are having he knows that he has some sort of control and he knows what to expect as a result of that control.  we have had relatively drama free dinners since we started!
8. working in the yard.
9. finley's sudden desire to be a "real person".
10. harper and calvary's awesome report cards.
11. harper's excitement about our upcoming trip to disney.  everyday she mentions something about our trip.
12. having chloe and emmi over...even if it rained all day and night putting a major damper on their fun...they are good girls and i am excited that they are all about the same age.
13. making actual tangible steps towards the home school goal.  i am a grab bag of excitement and terror...but i love that i am actually walking towards our goal.
14. i love how both homeschooling and asperger's creates communities of people that are willing to move past normal acceptable social etiquette so that we can connect. 
15. doing things i have been inspired to do through pinterest. 
16. calvary's love of spinach.
17. harper's desire to finish her "God-time" card for church...even though she does the whole thing in one day...so that she can turn in back in and have mr. scott be proud.
18. the fact that she calls her "God-time" card her "valentine".
19. finley sleeping in oliver jack's t-shirts for bed because of the warm weather.
20. fruit
21. finley falling asleep in my arms...still.