Saturday, January 16, 2021

Finding moments of comfort after a crazy week............

 






This has been another tough week, has it not?  I vowed to not listen to the news as much at the beginning of the year, maybe go back to listening to more audiobooks while driving.  But that went right out the door on January 6, after the attack on our Capitol.  I try to not be transfixed on the news, but things change so fast I really want to keep up.  I hope after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris get sworn in things will die down a bit but I am not holding my breath. Work has been especially stressful this week.  I am not sure what is making my kids so crazy, the weather?  Do they feel the global stress our nation is experiencing?  Or am I just overly tired after three migraines in seven days and have completely lost my patience?  

Little Buddy has had a wonderful week at school.  Good colors for his behavior, they are on a color chart with yellow as a warning and red you are in big trouble.  Monday evening he had a very rough time with me, it felt like it went on for hours but it was more like 45 minutes.  He was absolutely out of control, yelling and carrying on.  Still during that time I got him in his pj's, plopped him in a rocking chair in front of his television in his room and shut the door waiting for him to calm down.  My oldest was home and said I deserved a medal after not losing my cool.  I am not always successful in that department but that night I was, he finally calmed down and told me he was sorry.  We ended the night cuddling and reading for 30 minutes, his nightly requirement.  All ended well with a big hug and kiss.  Little Buddy has recently grounded me for 517 days, when I informed him that was a year and a half he changed it to two weeks.  Not sure where he is hearing about grounding but still it is funny.  I asked him if that meant I could just stay in my room, not work and not have to do any of my Mom duties and he informed me I still had to do all of it.  What is the point of being grounded then?  I was looking forward to the break. 

 Little Buddy ended his week and semester with good grades on his last math and science tests of the semester, we can use all the good grades we can get.  Mind you that was after 2 1/2 hours of studying Thursday night, after a long day of school and therapy.  His new assistant is really lovely, quiet but lovely.  She is coming out of her shell a bit and for that I am grateful.  She must be very exhausted at the end of the day working with Little Buddy, I know I would be.

Little Buddy's crochet blanket is about 2/3 done.  There are seven more squares to make and a border.  I am liking the simplicity of the blanket but can't wait to start something new.  

Blooms continue on our one and only amaryllis plant, it had four blooms on the first stalk, who knows what will happen with this one?  My Christmas cacti continue to shower me with their beauty.  Did you see the little drip of water hanging off this bud?

The boys are in big trouble, don't let their innocent faces fool you.  They have returned to being puppies by eating toilet paper again.  Bear has an upset belly, not that he doesn't deserve it.  You all know my obsession with having a LOT of toilet paper in my home, I don't want them to even waste one roll.  I have loads of it, I mean loads.  I have to make myself walk by the toilet paper aisle and not look because if I see a big hole with lots missing I will want to buy more even though we are set for quite a while.

I have been cleaning, making cranberry, ginger, chocolate chip cookies with pumpkin seed protein, almond flour and agave.  Don't they sound horrendous?  The chocolate chips are sweetened with stevia, and agave is pretty sweet, well at least for me.  They are a fixture in my cooler when I am working.  Quick to grab, full of protein and easy to eat.  I also have ground turkey spaghetti sauce simmering in my slow cooker, it smells divine.  

Nothing really special happening this week, all normal stuff.  Still I am finding that anything small and normal is comforting.  A little boy's smile, news of a good test score, beautiful flowers, playing with yarn.  I think we all need comfort during these very trying times.  Stay safe my friends.

27 comments:

Karen said...

Beautiful photo of the Christmas cactus. Mine bloomed beautifully from Thanksgiving on, and now they still have lots of buds, but they're not opening. Not sure what's up with that. That's so funny about the grounding. I'm not sure 157 days would be long enough for me :)

Eileen in Fla. said...

"Nothing really special happening this week, all normal stuff," she said. You work circles around 10 people and are amazing. I think you do need to go to time-out. Reading your post, I am reminded of an old Erma Bombeck column of how God chooses the mothers of special children. Not just LB, but we all are blessed by you.

CJ said...

A lovely post Meredith, full of normal, comforting things. I am so glad Little B has had a good week at school, it sounds as though he is working hard. And good to know that his helper is nice. The cookies sound excellent. I made some energy bars with ground almonds, coconut, ginger, cranberries and apricots and things and a bit of chopped up chocolate as well. Great for the afternoon when I run out of energy and need to eat things. Those naughty puppies, I hope Bear's tummy is all better. Bertie had an odd evening the other day. He had some mackrel with his breakfast, then a big piece of prosciutto and cheese to get his worming tablet down, then a piece of broccoli and one or two other naughty snacks and he couldn't sleep all evening. Too many exciting things in his tummy. Have a lovely Sunday. CJ xx

Lorrie said...

I love that little droplet on the end of the Christmas cactus flower. Today I made some seedy crackers that I like to have on hand for snacks and a quick pick me up with cheese or peanut butter. That's so funny about Little Buddy grounding you - sometimes I wish someone would send me to my room, but then the work would still be waiting for me when I got out!

Delighted Hands said...

Normal is what you can make of your days--a gift to yourself and your family! Your boys are so sweet and worth every minute!

Caffeine Girl said...

Eating toilet paper during a pandemic! What are they thinking? Don't they know there could be run on TP any day now? They need to adjust to the pandemic.

My son was a huge tantrum-thrower, and I was remembering the sheer exhaustion of those times. They survive because they are so cute! I love his thoughts on grounding, and I think you deserve the vacation that being grounded would give you.

Raising children with disabilities is extra challenging. Totally worth it, but that doesn't reduce the exhaustion when you're in the midst of it.

Betsy said...

Aww Meredith, you have such a sweet spirit. I can just see you wrestling LB into his jammies, (I had to do that a time or two), and leaving him to calm down. Deep breaths. Count to ten. And the grounding. Well, I laughed out loud at that. He obviously doesn't realize that it's not a punishment at all as long as everything would be done for you. Two weeks in your room with yarn and books. It would be wonderful wouldn't it? Those two precious fur boys. They look too sweet to be TP stealer/eaters. :-) I know what you mean about toilet paper. We have to use special RV paper and nothing else. When the crisis was on there wasn't a roll to be found anywhere. Luckily I always have several packages on hand so we didn't run out but now I'm super paranoid about it. When we moved out of the house I had 3 1/2 Costco size packages. Yes, I always keep that much, I wasn't hoarding. Dennis took 2 of those packages to Mandy when he went to his sisters funeral in September because she couldn't get any TP anywhere! So our stock is much lower now.
I hope you get to relax tomorrow my friend. I hate to hear about your migraines. I know how difficult they are. I'll be praying that next week there will be none!
Blessings and love,
Betsy

mamasmercantile said...

Little Buddy always makes me smile but grounding you, made me laugh out loud... I am so glad he is working hard and getting good grades. You have the patience of a saint. Take care.

Babajeza said...

Doing the stuff we usually do helps a lot to calm down. The masses of falling snow are a distraction too. Breath in, breath out, breath in, brea ... It's my mantra. As long as we breath it's not too bad.

All the best!

Regula

linda said...

Lovely sweet post Meredith, your Christmas cactus is lovely for some reason mine flowers around Easter time, last year I made a few baby plants as the mother plant was looking quite worn out, it still survives but I'm not sure if it will flower again. Your patience deserves a medal but I had to laugh at LB grounding you, looking at that sweet little face you would forgive him anything, I'm glad he is doing well and his new assistant is nice. Your crochet looks lovely and so do the cookies they sound really healthy. You just have to love those two boys of yours look at their little innocent faces haha pity about the loo roll though I hope Bears tummy has recovered. Have a peaceful Sunday xx

Araignee said...

I am taking a news break until the inauguration. I don't think I can take one more thing and I'm not dealing with half of what you are dealing with. I just ordered a carton of toilet paper from Walmart myself. If I get down to three of the big packs I get nervous. I don't think I'll ever look at TP the same again.

Nance said...

Forgive me, but I always, always laugh when I see a picture of your dogs. They are just such cute and clownish pups. Shame on them for their poor behaviour, but heavens, they are adorable. I cannot help it.

Bless your patience. May we all find more of it ourselves. We will need it.

Stay safe and well. Continue to find your serenity where you can.

Anonymous said...

OH Mere!
what a time you've had. and yet you still manage to write to us about it! and in spite of migraines you can still make me laugh. you are the true meaning of soldiering on through your pain. and you're right. I imagine the children you treat are feeling the general anxiety of all of us. they must wonder about the adults they see on tv throwing their own grown up tantrums!
I LOVE the especially innocent faces of Little Buddy and Hank and Bear. these are the good days Mere. you will look upon them with a joyous heart. simply because you were still able to laugh. thank you for sharing it all with us.
sending you love always. stay well! and take care of YOU in all your caring for everyone else. XOXOXO

Christina said...

Lovely to read that Little Buddy has been enjoying school and is doing well. Naughty puppies! There must be something in the air, our dog has also been eating stuff that is not good for his tummy and my friends dog just had his second surgery to remove tinfoil from his bowel. He had already lost part of his bowel after eating a whole corn cob.... Dogs! I hope you won't experience any migraines this week. Just a few more days and then maybe you and all of your country can start to breathe more easily again. Lots of love xx

KSD said...

I think my children tried to put me in time out once, too. They had the same realization about being on their own. How quickly they can become forgiving, huh?

Judy S. said...

LB is sure growing up fast! It's good to hear that he's doing well in school. I am sure you are the reason he's doing so well and is very lucky to have you in his life! I am jealous of your amaryillis because ours refused to bloom and is now it timeout in our garage. We had a pretty good week, too, except for the power outage but were reminded that we almost always have light and heat and should be thankful for that. Hugs to you, and hope you don't have any migraines this coming week!

Jeanie said...

Great news on the tests and report card! Oh, that always makes a person smile. I had to laugh with the toilet paper -- I didn't do the toilet paper buy out last year but since last summer have quietly stocked up, one big pack at a time. I think it will take care of me for awhile, but I'd hate to lose it to the dogs!

We're all on edge these days. Take care and try to find the peace where you can.

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

It's been a weird week for sure. I always find something to be grateful for daily. I have plants that are starting to bloom. It's not frozen here very much lately. Your flowers are pretty. Another smile of Buddy makes me happy too. Thanks for sharing how he is doing. Quite the boy that's getting better. Where would he be if he wasn't with you? Take ❤🌈 Becky

Teresa Kasner said...

I'm glad to hear your little guy is doing better in school. Our older grandson is not doing well with home school learning. It's funny he thought he had the power to ground you.. lol! I hope your migraines subside and stay gone for good! Sending best wishes from Oregon!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

kathy b said...

Poor you. Poor lil B. He sure knows somethi g great if he can say sorry at his tender age. Bravo Mere

karen said...

whenever either of my kids had melt downs that meant there was going to be a growth spurt. I bet you he will be growing an inch or two!! I love reading your stories and your life, and like you the news has derailed my news diet yet again...

Melanie said...

Thanks for the update. All normal stuff here too, though I've received three bits of "bad" news from people in less than 24 hours, so I am feeling pretty bummed today. Maybe if the sun ever comes out here again too, I will feel a bit more cheerful.

Your cookies actually don't sound horrendous - they sound pretty good! I put organic stevia in my coffee and tea.

Naughty pups for tearing up the TP! Is it while you're gone during the day? Maybe they're protesting about that! They miss you!

Hooray for Little Buddy getting good grades. The tantrums don't sound like much fun though. ;-)

Crafty in the Med said...

You are a marvel Mere! I am in awe to see how you manage all that you do! Great that your new assistant is settling in and beginning to bond with Little Buddy. Good news then that LB is getting better grades. I had to chuckle when I read about you being grounded by LB ...and you thought it would be a chance for a break!! :-) Naughty furry lads...toilet paper ...really!! You find time to bake cookies too??? I need some of that energy please pass it along xx

take care now Amanda x

Ellen D. said...

Thanks for sharing your life with me. I am feeling so grateful to all of the bloggers that I read.

Ellen D. said...

Thank you for the full post! I love to hear about the goings-on in your family. Glad all are healthy right now and hope they all stay that way. Big day tomorrow - January 20th! Thanks goodness that Biden/Harris will now be in charge! Happy Days!

Una said...

I think we have all been grounded since last March! What did we do wrong? It must have been something terrible, like buying all the toilet roll :-)

Danette Bartelmay said...

Meredith,
It's so good to take a stroll through your world again and catch up. Little Buddy has grown! Tell him he can ground me for 517 days any time he wants to. As for the toilet paper munching pups, mine do the same. Percy is only 2 1/2, however, Miss Phoebe turned 12 in November and it remains her favorite snack when mommy turns her back!!
Much love to you and yours. Stay healthy and happy my friend!
Danette