quite a crafty day.......

I love days like this. A day filled with my kids wanting to be engaged with me by an activity- First, both yesterday and today are days where no behaviorists have come over- a little bit of a vacation for me. Love having them for so many reasons, but 5 times a week for 4 hours- well, someone in your house and things are just different. The dynamic is different, schedule is different, more challenging day for Ty. Lots of reasons. But a day like today- well, this is why I like Summer. First, I was greeted in bed at 7:15am with Hot Cocoa made by Ty. Very sweet- and you should have seen how chocolatey it was... I smiled. He then told me don't worry mom, I cleaned it up. And even if he didn't, gosh I"m proud of him for even trying. Now, he really wanted me to drink it right then, but I persuaded him to let me get out of bed first. So, I'll take that kind of wake up call any day, compared to our usual getting hit, kicked, jumped on, darts shot at from a nerf gun... always a rough start. So, very pleased and smiled as I got out of bed. What does today have in store for me, I wondered? There was no fighting, no behaviors, even one time, he politely asked Sarah to not make so much noise. AHHH sweet words coming from my little guy! He took his usual morning nap. I was getting a craft ready for those that wanted to spend time with me (that's how I always phrase things- who wants to come do something fun with mommy!!!). The girls were takers- Ty wasn't interested. I'll post later- or you can see the idea on my pinterest. We made Hedgehog Leaf craft- we also made hedgehogs with paint and forks. This was really cool- painting with forks- turned out good! Well, Ty kind of walked around, aimlessly, not sure what to do. Kept saying, he was bored, but didn't want to take me up on any my suggestions. So when the girls and I were done with our hedgehog crafts, I invited Ty to make the fountain pond he started yesterday. He gets quite obsessed about certain things- and this is one of them- making a pond, making a fountain- so I try to engage it and channel it properly- he has very big ideas sometimes. He has literally dug a hole in the garden and stuck tin foil in it and filled it up- creative, but I"m a little tired of all the holes he's dug- trying to build a new pond. So, I let him use the little mini pond pump I got for the fountain I made for my husband's birthday (it got kind of taken apart during our deck construction- which I"m okay with - I can rebuilt another time). I figure, Ty wants to engage in an activity with me- I was able to channel him a bit, meaning he was a little bit flexible today- yeah! So he was out in the backyard, digging in an area by the new deck that was a perfectly good place to just dig. He wanted to make it be a stream that went all the way under the deck to the other side of the yard, but I convinced him to start small and see if this works first. Distraction worked. So, we built a mini pond with the fountain pump flowing water over rocks. Very nice- he's off to the next thing. And he seems a little tired today, maybe it's a "down mood" day, we just never quite know what mood it will be. Over the weekend, he was what we call "jacked up"... a little manic, bouncing off the walls, very distracted by everything- no focus. (he also has ADHD)....and he's very hard to keep up with on those days. Even if he's in a good mood- wow he really has no end to his energy and ideas.... and is like the energizer bunny that just keeps going and going and going. But starting yesterday, and definitely today- a little calmer, more focused, kinder, helpful, patient, flexible, patient, oh an did I say patient. So, we had lunch (the 67th smoothie this summer - or however many days they've been out of school.... it's a smoothie everyday- could be worse, but I do make them pretty good!)So, after lunch- he falls asleep again (this is very typical for him. He always takes at least one nap a day, and many days two). We've learned this is a form of regulation. This is the only way he really knows how to self regulate. By sleeping. And it does help him a lot- even on a tough day, he will nap with our dogs, and when he wakes up, he can be in a much better mood. So while he slept, the girls and I got a chance to do another craft- this time it was Salt Dough Shell Fossils. This was cool- we've done salt dough many times- so this was a nice new twist - I have lots of seashells- and they turned out really cool. Pictures to come later.... They are baking right now. So when we are about done, Ty wakes up. Now this could have gone many different ways- no predicting his response to us doing an activity without him (even if he didn't want to do it..) But he was okay with it, I asked if he wanted to do another craft- but no, maybe tomorrow. Okay, maybe tomorrow- really- ahhh nice moment once again. No overreaction, no problem behaviors, no screaming. (Well, we had one little thing- he broke one of the fossils (unfortunately Sarah's) to give to the dogs to chew on. She was pretty upset, but he politely said he was sorry (after I prompted him). The fact that he followed my prompt and didn't over react to that- again, success!! So, the day of course is not over- but for me- these are the kind of summer days that I love. Being crafty with my kids- even if it's not all together- at least I got to spend a little time with each- which on a typical day is very difficult to achieve. And well, as I type this now- my husband is just getting home- transition time is happening. And I hear screaming from Sarah because Ty is bugging her intentionally, Ty is locking all the doors so Megan can't go to a bathroom. So, our evening routine will begin- and I"m off with the girls while Brian and Ty play ball, and that will help us all get through the transition. At least until dinner and flush time. But again, a smile on my face, and a heart filled with happiness today!