Friday Focus

[Lady Maverick]

What is your focus today?

[Twins' Mom]

Lady M, thank you for jumping in and getting us focused and moving today.

Yesterday I visited dsis - got in around 8 p.m. worn out as usual. Dsis is about the same. I always have such mixed feelings about visiting her. I feel so sad about her life and how she has ended up. Is she happy? I'm not sure she feels happiness anymore? It's a trial to be with her in many ways - she is very helpless and OCD and really unable to have a conversation. Everything ends is yes, or no without further comment. She will make a few spontaneous comments but can't follow up. OTOH, I'm always glad to be done with the visit and the long trip and I don't have to do it again for three weeks. (I get there every third week usually - the day of the week varies.)

Today we're supposed to have snow late and temp has been below freezing for several days. We're supposed to go to friends' tonight for dinner and I'm supposed to make a fruit salad for dessert. They live close, so in the event of bad weather I think we'll be okay getting home.

I need to visit dmom today, and right now (Eeeeeek!) straighten up for dcleaning lady. Gotta get moving....

[Lady Maverick]

Another beautiful day with temps in the 50's. This good weather gives the kids a boost as they LOVE playing outdoors.

 how is LO doing with his little sister there so much? 

It is a big change for him. Going from an "only child" to sharing most everything. I won't sugar coat it, after the new wore off, LO hated having her here the first couple of weeks. LO didn't like anything about it - especially sharing DH and myself. However, as time is passing LO is finding some good things about having a sister. We have had to work hard on LO bossing DGD3 so now he has progressed to asking her if she wants to do this or that with him. This good attitude invitation for DGD3 to play with him has helped immensely in how LO perceives DGD3. It seems that LO is moving DGD3 from nuisance status into play-mate status.

I've had to develop some different consequences to LO misbehaving. It was so frequent that he was constantly in trouble. I switched his consequences to him running around the driveway loop (about 1/3 of a mile) and/or doing push-ups. This has been a HUGE success. Not only does the physical activity help relieve the frustration LO is feeling and replaces that feeling with happiness about his accomplishments, it also gives space between LO and DGD3. Although…..DGD3 does try to follow LO while he is doing his laps, but that makes him feel even better because he can run faster than she can. LOL Their relationship is a work in progress, but definitely getting better as time passes.

My focus for today is remembering my priorities. Being supportive to DH is primary. DH is under so much stress from the continual breakdowns. He came home at 6:30pm last night and asked if I could drive him to get parts. He was so tired he wasn't sure he could safely make the 2 hour drive in dark. It was obvious to me how tired he is mentally as well as physically. He would never have asked me if he was thinking right. DH didn't remember DGD3 bath/bedtime is 7pm and LO's is 8pm. Making the drive for him meant both kids got into bed late. DGD3 feel asleep strapped in her booster car seat. But it all worked out okay

This afternoon I will be at LO school. I will take DGD3 with me which will be a multi-tasking challenge..

Tonight I will take LO to see his first Judo competition. LO's karate instructor (6th degree black belt) will be in **student** mode during this competition with His teacher.

There goes the alarm to wake the kids. And so my day begins......

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Focus today is church work.

Sunday School Prep
Meeting prep
Service prep (thankfully the March 1 service)
Sermon prep (ditto, although I have a feeling where the sermon is headed but don't feel qualified to take it in that direction so am putting off working on it.)

Paperwork remains strewn all over.

I need a shopping day as well in order to knock some items off my vacation to-do list but I need planning days before then so I don't have to make multiple trips to the stores.

We are under an extreme cold advisory again today. Sigh...

Oh, and we leave the house at 2 in order to start babysitting duties on time (this is not a day to leave the boys outside in the cold!)

[Lady Maverick]

Back from taking LO to school. I left DGD3 (with DH here) in bed asleep. When I arrived back home, DGD3 was curled up in a corner of the living room distraught. When I walked into the house, she immediately ran to me and clamped her arms around my neck. It was 10 minutes before she was ready to turn loose.

We haven't received the full evaluation from LO psych testing, but they did tell me there was 99% probability LO is ADHD. They gave me several recommendations of things to implement in LO life that will help him. One of those things is a schedule/planner. Yesterday LO picked out his first wrist watch and so the process of him learning time management has begun.

After 18 years of using SHE system to break down tasks & routinely complete them, I don't feel like I have it mastered. However, it does help me IMMENSELY. Hopefully I can share with LO some ways that might help him.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

LM: you already have shared some of the system with him. LO has his personal cards to do before school each day and has been using them for years. Use of a planner will just be an extension of that.

BTW: if you haven't already implemented those cards with dgd3, you should start soon for two reasons. First, it is unfair for LO to have some but she not have to and, secondly, it will make her feel 'grown-up' like LO and be another way they are treated equally.

I've s2s and treated my feet. Today the treatment is cornstarch,a variation of the corn meal treatment that won't happen due to the time involved to do - I don't have 30 - 60 minutes a day to put into treating my feet. The once a week or once a month method was only for preventative, not to cure. That and the fact that there's no scientific basis for it to work and good reason for it to be bad (the starches in the corn meal may feed the fungus.)

One website suggested mixing up treatments in order to widen the chance that something will work so that's why I'm changing things up on a fairly regular basis - shower days the toe gets treated with an oil of some sort (tea tree, eucalyptus, menthol) after a scrubbing in the shower. Alternate days are a tea-tree oil and water soak for 15 minutes. If I like how my feet feel this evening after a day in corn starch, I might add that treatment to my daily routine just because apparently nails will grow more quickly and therefore the damaged bits will grow out faster. Whether it is the starch that stimulates the growth, or if it just softens the cuticle so it appears the nail is growing faster is unclear to me.

[Lady Maverick]

if you haven't already implemented those cards with dgd3, you should start soon

Thanks for pointing this out. I hadn't thought of that! I started LO off with pictures of him doing his daily tasks and that worked well until he started reading. I need to take pictures of DGD3 doing her daily things, print them out and set her card system up.

DH and I enjoyed sitting down and eating breakfast together (DGD3 had already finished her blueberry oatmeal by the time I was finished cooking our breakfast) DH brought me up to speed on the current MPB owies and the plan for resolving them. I am pleased he is going to wait for an electrician instead of tackling high voltage repairs himself. DH has plenty of other repairs to keep him occupied while waiting.

DD called and talked to DGD3 for 1 minute and 33 seconds. That will probably be the sum of her parenting effort today.

Called eye doctor office. I just had yearly eye exam last month however last night I realized my sight has changed and is past the point of seeing well enough to drive (at night). The receptionist is sending my file to nurse to be evaluated and she will call me back later today with recommendation.

[Harriet]

meant both kids got into bed late. DGD3 feel asleep strapped in her booster car seat. But it all worked out okay

LadyM, these are just the scheduling puzzles that most young couples encounter. If you heard of 20-somethings arranging things like this, you would think nothing of it. I imagine you are holding yourself to a high standard, and every once in a while you need have a good giggle over all this! Sorry dgd3 misunderstood all the family whereabouts this morning. Has happened to every one of my kids - probably a good bet that it is 100% of families who've had this happen. It's all good.

Twins' Mom, that's a challenging situation you find as you visit your sister, and it must be a challenge to communicate, too. I guess you wonder if the spontaneous comments are about things that are important to your sister, that she has been meaning to tell someone, or just conversational. If something bothers her, is she able to express that to you when you arrive.

The cardfile system - very hard to describe this as "mastered" I think. It is already rotational in nature (good) and since the rotation is flexible (also good), and because life happens, we are never working the "same" system we mastered previously. (Maybe not even the same one as last week, depending upon how fast surprises are showing up on our horizons.)

My focus for today is first to pull out of this extreme weather "hit" we have taken lately. It was 3 degrees last night and our high will look like a usual low. I'm going to be so glad when I make the decisions for my steering wheel again on our road, rather than the ice ruts tugging the car in various directions. Beyond that I want to get back to Desk Day. I want to eat well because this weather has pulled me back into some large-meal habits.

[DeeClutter]

Back from church work and have done the dishes and put a LOL in the dryer twin. Resting my back now.

Dh decided to stay home and rest. He and dd got home from Daytona around 1:15a.m. Figured that was pretty good time since the races weren't over until maybe 10:20 or so. He said they went down to the pits afterwards to briefly look at the cars. He and dd about froze -good experience but probably wouldn't do it again. DD got a ticket from someone and called dh to see if he wanted to come -she also had a ride for him. They spent a lot of time in a 'parking lot' on I-4 or on 417. So I was amazed to see a 'selfie' of her and dh at the track before the race started.

I slept much better last night. My concern (listed in J&C) continues but my tummy is slowly recuperating. I'll be glad to not feel such anxiety.

Up to 48 outside now so it's slowly doing a warming trend. Better than up home for sure.

Think I'll do some straightening in our room. I really want to start doing some slimming down and readying some things just in case dd/dsonil decide to move before we come back next fall. And if they don't, at least I'll be in better shape.

[Nancy]

Today's focus was to get a.m. stuff under way. That was a success dgd was not here in time and it was hard to wake her the bus comes earlier here. She helped with chicken chores one hen even kaid an egg at her feet, that was special.

My ear was acting up when I rolled over in bed the room was spinning but it is fine now.

Laundry is going. Fog has just rolled in here sigh.
Done with kids for today.