The Strength of a Mother's Words

I am cruising toward middle age learning day by day how to parent children that are getting older. Meanwhile still trying new things myself, I will run into discouragement along the way. I spent my time on fun projects today. This afternoon I went into my sewing room and tackled this week's blocks, the star and the heart for our crumb quilt. (www.joscountryjunction.com)

I tried the star block on Tuesday and it was terrible. I didn't have anything to scale and the block was bigger than it should have been. Thankfully in crumb blocks, I can just cut it into strips and throw it in with other blocks. To "reset" so to speak, I went back to the flying geese I had started. There were two more to finish so that is what I started with. Then, on to some heart blocks. Those went better and I am excited to show Dawn because she will enjoy the hearts. I did tweak the second star block I tried on Tuesday and am pretty happy with it.

Being alittle unsure of myself and my quilting, I wasn't thinking too positively about my efforts. I don't know what led me to throw the squares I had done into my purse when I dropped the kids off at my mom's house for a sleepover. I chatted with her for a little while and told her about my day in the sewing room. She was of course supportive and wanted to see the squares. After showing her she actually "wowed" over them! I was surprised that she found them to be so good (my own opinion was not as high). So, I will keep working on my blocks, thanks to my mom who thinks I do pretty good work!

The Little Man I Spend My Days With

My day started out with quite a giggle this morning. Having Daddy gone all week has taken its toll and we are all ready for him to return tomorrow. My little man (spittin' image of his daddy) was in my bedroom with me as I was getting ready for my day. He looked down at the floor where his daddy's shoes were and he said "There's Daddy's shoes". In the automatic response mode that I spend most of my day in, I replied "Yes, those are Daddy's shoes". After a short pause he said "Daddy barefoot!" Precious, precious observation and with real concern in his tone that his father must be spending his entire week in Washington without his shoes.

Four off to school, one home with me. These last few weeks getting used to having a "tag-a-long" have been quite an adjustment for all of us. The big kids at school are doing well in their adjustment to a new school year. Matt and I? Well, we are a work in progress.

His most common question is "I help, Mommy?" So, I hoist him up on the dryer so he can throw dirty clothes into the washer, I show him where the plastic containers go when we are unloading the dishwasher, and well, you get the picture. Being the social creature that he is (my first social son), there always has to be a conversation going on. He is quite a blessing...totally unexpected, not so unlike many of the comments I find coming out of his mouth that fill my day with joy.

A Mother's Thoughts

This morning was one of those rough mornings. At least for a little while. The two little boys had a doctor's appointment. I had waited as long as I could before sending Zach to get his 4-5 year shots. You know, the controversy...do vaccines harm autistic children? I have read both sides of the debate. Doctors on both sides, saying the opposite things. Some with autistic children, some with funding from pharmaceutical companies.

I think that there are good points on both sides of the issue. But for this mom, I tend to lean toward the side that lines up the most with my experience. I have learned in this experience that medicine is not an exact science, and I wish I didn't I feel so inadequate to speak up. Our doctor is understanding and has told us he wants to support us in the things we would like in regard to Zach's care. But still, I don't always feel like I have any choice in the matter.

I started the morning talking to God about the whole thing. I woke up stressed out and worried. I asked Him to put a hedge of protection around his mind and his body in any of the areas that may be affected by the "not so good" things that are in the vaccines. This was one of those times I second guessed whether I know what is best for my child. Zach has made some great progress on his journey in the past two years or so. I can not be prouder of the determined little boy he has become. The last two times he has had shots we have noticed changes in his behavior and the amount of control he has. So, here we are again a few years down the road and I was a little worked up. I know that God has knit him together and knows every inch of him inside and out. He knows how he will react to the shots this time around and He knows all that the future holds. I know it in my head and I love that I can rest knowing that He loves Zachary even more than I do.

Zach was so tough when it came time to get the shots. As he told me a few times today "I didn't cry, Mom. Matthew cried and cried". We celebrated his bravery by eating out for supper. Each day that ends like today is one that I cherish. We got home from eating out and he told me as he got out of the van "Mom, I want to hug you because I love that we get to go to eat at a restaurant". Then as I closed the door of his room after tucking him in he said "I am going to love you Mom, I am going to love you a lot!" You just can't ask for more than that!

Two Boy's Birthdays

There are four Sloan birthdays this month. This year, the triplets decided to have a boy party and a girl party so as of today, two birthdays have been fully celebrated. The girls' will be having a sleepover party later this month. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen in September thinking of themes for the cakes and trying to surprise them with something unexpected. This year Matthew had a football/basketball/baseball cake and Ryan had R2D2's head. There are two more to bake next week so stay tuned...

Crumb Quilting

In the midst of the September birthdays and the cake baking, I started a crumb-along quilt project on my aunt's website Jo's Country Junction. The first week was flying geese blocks with all of the scrap pieces.

I still have different sized scraps from the girls' quilts that I finished last month. I am excited to use the squares for throw pillows and possibly curtains for their room depending how many squares I can make with the scraps.

These went together pretty quick and Dawn is excited to help make some too. I am also making squares from old shirts that David has worn way too many years, along with some very old calico type fabric that has been in my fabric bins for along time. Dawn went with me to Goodwill to find some fabric possibilities. I have three more started with the shirt fabric.