First Day

Today was our first day of doing homeschool work for the year.  It was a long, long day and I am going to fiddle with the schedule but it went well.  I am totally exhausted though.

You See These?

Since we moved here, these two girls can be found in one of two places; either the backyard or the classroom.  They are just so thrilled.  They have claimed these areas as their own.

Meeting Those Goals

In the spirit of making homeschooling fun like was one of my goals for this year, we did school on the computer today.  I had found some great sites to do fun things that fit right in with where we are in our homeschooling.  I even found some sites to work with Princess Belle.  She had great fun!  I gave her the homework of finding some subjects that she is interested in so that we can do research and do some unit studies to break up the book work.  For this year I am looking to do bookwork but to also do fun learning activities too.  I want school to be fun and the girls were VERY enthusiastic.  It was a GREAT day.

The little girls did some songs when we started and one of their favorites was The Lion Hunt song.  So after we were done our work, we made some binoculars.  The girls LOVED that and asked if they could make explorer hats next time.

On a sidenote: I am really struggling with my diet!  I am hungry all the time!!!!  I don't know what is wrong with me, but this SUCKS!!!!  And for all these hunger pains!!  I am not losing weight!  I mean I am not gaining weight, but I am not losing either.

So Good!

Princess Snifflefritz just suddenly got it!  The potty training clicked!  After two years trying, she finally gets it and went all day without any accidents!  I am so proud of her.

She is such a funny, sweet, silly girl!  I love how snuggly, happy, and loving she is and how much she makes me laugh every single day. 

Finally!!!

Princess Snifflefritz is finally learning to go potty.  It has been 2 years I have been working on it with her and I was beginning to wonder if it was EVER going to happen, but it looks like it might.  It is exhausting because she is going potty every 15 minutes from morning until about 10 at night.  So that means every 15 minutes all day long I am dragging my old sore knees up those stairs to take her potty, but it will be worth it if she is out of diapers soon.  I tell you what though . . . . my knees are going to VERY glad when she goes to sleep tonight.

Yay!

I am so proud of Princess Belle lately.  She is really getting the hang of her math.  For a girl who used to be behind a full grade in her math, she is doing so well.  She is doing on grade math and completely getting it.  She is retaining the Science, Language, and History that we are learning too.  Something has clicked this year and she is really enjoying school and she is doing great!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things about my day:

1. Princess Magpie is still not going potty on the potty.  She is waiting until bedtime and using her pull-up.  She has tremendous bladder control, I have to tell you.  I am giving her time.  She likes the potty, but one of the things about her that makes me wonder if she is on the autism scale like her sister is her insistence on routine.  She is convinced that a pull-up or a diaper is where that goes.  I am working on making her feel better and letting her spend as much time as she likes on the potty and hopefully she will go one day by accident and then I can celebrate and she can get it.  
2. On the other hand, Princess Snifflefritz has seen us working with (just turned 4 year old) Princess Magpie and asked us for underwear and asked if she could go potty too.  I figured she is only 2 1/2 but what the heck, I gave it a shot and she DID IT!!!  First try she did it!!  She doesn't have the bladder control her sister does but she has managed to go every time she sat on the potty.
3. I made a roast chicken dinner for my family.  With my guest still staying with us, I had to make 2 chickens but it was a HUGE hit and everybody loved it.  It was worth heating up the house.
4. I get a kick out of seeing all the cloth diapers on the clothes line.  It makes me happy to see them out there every morning shining in the morning sun.
5. I love my guest, he is great and so helpful with Little Prince but I do miss alone time with Prince Charming.  I miss our evenings alone watching our shows and chatting.  
6. I LOVE this house.  I wish we could stay here forever!  But I know that at some point Little Prince is going to need a bedroom and that sucks.  I didn't know that he wouldn't be able to share with the little girls because Princess Magpie will be at least five or six by the time he is old enough to be in the room with them.   And while Princess Snifflefritz would be young enough, Princess Magpie likes sharing with her little sister and Princess Belle likes having a room of her own. 
7. I am glad to be putting my diet back on the list again.  I need to do that.  I even went out and bought scales.
8. I bought some earings at the dollar store!  I know it is silly but they look nice, I won't be heartbroken if they break and I LIKE wearing earings again.
9. There is a nice kid in our neighbourhood.  He has said to Princess Belle that he doesn't care if she is a little odd he knows she has autism and that isn't her fault so he likes her anyway.  He isn't judgmental and it makes my life easier to see her happier.
10. I did discover that the one little hoodlum that loves to make her miserable, loves to make a LOT of kids miserable.  I think he actually likes Princess Belle but he is only 8 and doesn't know how to show it, so he makes her feel bad.  
11. I am still on top of housework in this place.  Or at least I am better on top of it than I was elsewhere.  I have off days when the kids have tag-teamed me all night and I haven't had much sleep but for the most part an organized house is easier to keep tidy.
12. I put pictures up on the walls!!  It looks great.  
13. I can't wait to get a stud-finder so that we can hang the curtains.  

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!
Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

The countdown is on

Our move in on Thursday and there is still so much I have to do. I am plodding along doing everything I can. I can't wait until next week this time when I will have this whole thing behind me and will even have had a couple of days to settle in. I don't know why this is so stressful for me this time.

Princess Magpie made two big steps week. She started sleeping in her big girl bed and she gave up sleeping with her Fuzzy (her lovey on the floor by her feet in this pic). She couldn't find her Fuzzy one night and managed to go to sleep without it. I am so proud of her.

Happy Birthday Princess Belle

Well can you believe that my first baby girl is now NINE years old?!? I can't. She is such a sweet, caring, energetic, great kid. I am proud of her and I love how much she loves her baby sisters. Here are a plethora of pics of her through the years.

Look at what my baby can do!!!

She was so behind just two weeks ago. She wasn't sitting, crawling, or pulling herself up on furniture. But now all of a sudden she is doing it all!! We are still working on her eating, but I am so glad to see some improvements in her development.

Success!!

I am so happy! Princess Snifflefritz is sitting in her high chair eating her breakfast without tears. She is happy and giggly and munching! This is such a big step for her in her journey to eating properly. It is cute that Princess Magpie keeps running over to make faces at her while she eats.

She is also making progress in other ways. Look at what she can do now!!

Yay!

I would like to point out that my oldest daughter is finally able to stay dry all night long! Given her autism, this has been a real challenge for her and I am so proud of her that she is able to do this, even when she gets up and gets a drink at night, she still stays dry!

#Autism

Better day

This has been such a better day it is hard to believe. My girl has been sweet and she has listened and been good. She was quiet so as not to wake up the baby. She didn't argue about breakfast, she has been an angel.

I have to say she got better yesterday evening as the gluten worked out of her system. By bedtime she was back to her loving self. She apologized, she seem genuinely baffled by her behavior.

We are going to have a nice family evening today and we are going to watch a movie with gluten fee corn chips and salsa. She is excited about it.

It is so nice to have her back to herself.

Homework trick

With Princess Belle's ADHD homework has always been a little stressful. Last weekend, I decided just because it was given to us in school didn't mean I had to treat it like school. So I made a game out of it. Keeping in mind that three of her biggest issues were getting intimidated by large amounts of work, keeping her attention, and keeping her motivated. I came up with an idea where I divide her homework up into stations. A small amount of her work is at each station. When she is done with all the stations, she wins the game and she gets a prize. So far she has gotten to listen to some songs that she likes on youtube and she has gone to some kids sites on the computer. I have other ideas as well, but for now, she is enjoying the computer time as she doesn't usually get to go on the computer.

The change has been amazing. She is excited to do her homework, she comes to me every few minutes from the time she gets home from school asking if I am ready for her to do her homework yet. The first station involves her reading a book to me, so we sit on the couch all comfy and she reads the book. She does it amazingly well! Then she goes through the rest of the stations in record speed with wonderful accuracy. We are done in no time and we are both happy and relaxed at the end. I am so glad that I came up with this idea.

Big Victories in a Little World

Princess Magpie is continuing on her quest to take over her little world. She is changing every day. Last night, while we were watching television, she was on the floor in front of us. We realized she seemed to be repeating something over and over and looking at us. She was very clearly looking at us and saying, "Baba, Baba, Baba" We stopped and looked at her, wondering to ourselves if she was just practicing her sounds or if she was trying to tell us something. I stood up and looked at her and she repeated just once to me, "Baba!" Just to test our theory, I walked into the kitchen and fetched a bottle and held it out at her. She looked at the bottle, smiled at me and repeated victoriously, "Baba!" I picked her up and she began to drink furiously. So my babies first word is baba (bottle). Too funny. It makes sense, she is a voracious eater and seeing as how her belly is the most important thing in her world as far as I can tell, I can see how her first word would have to do with that. She will work on Mama and Dada later. LOL

This morning she was laying on the floor and she flipped over on to her belly. I watched her, waiting for her to do as she usually does which is work really hard to flip back over, get frustrated and then cry. But as I watched, I realized she wasn't giving up. She worked and worked. Then she would lay her head down and rest before lifting it back up to try again. And lo and behold she flipped herself back over. When she did her little face was filled with joy and pride. She was so excited with herself for doing it. I, of course, took pictures of the whole thing.

Saturday Photohunt -- Bright

Theme: Bright Become a Photo Hunter

The theme this week is Bright. I had all kinds of thoughts this week with regards to bright and they all centered around my Princess and the fact that she graduated from kindergarten this week, proving just how bright she is. So here is what I came up with.

A BRIGHT window behind her BRIGHT smile on the day my BRIGHT girl graduated from kindergarten!

Thursday Thirteen #57

Thirteen Things about Twisted Cinderella's Princess! Princess had her last day of Kindergarten today. We are very excited for her!! I am so proud of her and so amazed that she has finished her first year of school already. It goes too fast. I can't believe my baby girl is just this big already She has changed a LOT over the course of the year, so in celebration of her first year of school, I have decided to share pics from the last year for my Thursday Thirteen. Her first day of school in September Her last day of school in June Getting her diploma Performing for her class On field trip to farm with class Blowing out candles at her birthday At Christmas Official Kindergarten pic Slaying the evil dragon in her Halloween Costume as a a Knight on a dragon Second day of Kindergarten

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants