Connor is a good kid...Connor is a good kid...Connor is a good kid.
This is the current mantra that Ben and I are chanting in the Ockree house. Connor is in a very challenging mood lately. If we tell him to do something he does the exact opposite, if we punish him it results in hysterics, if we don't punish him it results in him walking all over us.
These are the days that we want to pull our hair out and wonder what on earth we are doing wrong. How can it feel like we are making so much progress for a couple of months and then all of the sudden feel like we are back to square one...or even worse, behind square one?
During these days we have been advised to watch him sleep and remember that peaceful and quiet little face during the hair ripping out moments that are sure to come during the day.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
What's it all about?
This morning Connor had a realization. God doesn't always say yes to our prayers - or better stated for Dr. Ziegler's sake God's yes isn't always what we think it will be.
Bright and early this morning Connor came and sat down on the floor in our room. He said that he had prayed to God that he would have a really good listening day and really good dreams yesterday. According to Connor, however, he had neither a really good listening day at school, at home, or good dreams last night. He then made the universal sign showing the inability to understand. He put his arms into a W shape and said, "What's that all about?"
I said that God always gives us what we need, but it is not always what we think we need and that suffering helps draw us closer to Christ. His response - "Huh?"
Hey Connor, maybe you should ask your dad about this one. It seems like a pastor type question.
Bright and early this morning Connor came and sat down on the floor in our room. He said that he had prayed to God that he would have a really good listening day and really good dreams yesterday. According to Connor, however, he had neither a really good listening day at school, at home, or good dreams last night. He then made the universal sign showing the inability to understand. He put his arms into a W shape and said, "What's that all about?"
I said that God always gives us what we need, but it is not always what we think we need and that suffering helps draw us closer to Christ. His response - "Huh?"
Hey Connor, maybe you should ask your dad about this one. It seems like a pastor type question.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
There Were Three in the Bed...
For a few weeks now Connor has been coming into our room to sleep on the floor. This has been permitted because Sophia was moved into his room and has the tendency to at least once a night make a little noise.
Last night Connor decided that sleeping on his makeshift bed on the floor was not good enough. He needed to be in our bed with us. After several attempts to get him to go to his room we gave up and he spend the night with us.
Sleeping with a five year old boy in the bed was a challenge. It reminded me of the good old days when Ben and I had a king sized bed and we could fit kids, animals, and extra pillow in bed without feeling the least bit cramped.
Last night in our queen bed I was feeling somewhere between cramped and sardine. I kept thinking about the song where there are seven people in the bed and the little one said roll over..roll over.
Last night Connor decided that sleeping on his makeshift bed on the floor was not good enough. He needed to be in our bed with us. After several attempts to get him to go to his room we gave up and he spend the night with us.
Sleeping with a five year old boy in the bed was a challenge. It reminded me of the good old days when Ben and I had a king sized bed and we could fit kids, animals, and extra pillow in bed without feeling the least bit cramped.
Last night in our queen bed I was feeling somewhere between cramped and sardine. I kept thinking about the song where there are seven people in the bed and the little one said roll over..roll over.
Friday, November 5, 2010
True Love Moments
There are moments in this world where I get a mere glimpse of what true love may look like. I always love my husband and kids, but they also frustrate me, annoy me and drain me of all energy.
Every now and then I have a moment, they are always very brief, where I feel extreme love for my family. A couple of nights ago we were all walking inside after being at the YMCA and it struck me how blessed I am to have been given this beautiful family to call my own. It was just a flash of brilliant, pure and unmarked love and just as quickly as it came it was gone. In its place was the regular every day love I feel for my family.
Odd, beautiful, mysterious and gone. It is moments like these that I hold on to and cling to during the tiredness, anger and frustration that normally accompanies our days.
Every now and then I have a moment, they are always very brief, where I feel extreme love for my family. A couple of nights ago we were all walking inside after being at the YMCA and it struck me how blessed I am to have been given this beautiful family to call my own. It was just a flash of brilliant, pure and unmarked love and just as quickly as it came it was gone. In its place was the regular every day love I feel for my family.
Odd, beautiful, mysterious and gone. It is moments like these that I hold on to and cling to during the tiredness, anger and frustration that normally accompanies our days.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Sleepless Nights
For several weeks now, Sophia has been very determined to go without sleep. She keeps waking up in the middle of the night and refuses to go back down. She is instead pursuing the pastime of staring lovingly into my eyes. For the first half an hour or so I just look back at her and it is a beautiful scene of mutual love and adoration. After that half an hour it starts to be a tragic scene of me wanting to sleep and her wanting to grab my face, hair, pajamas, arms, etc.
Perhaps I could think of some sort of fun middle of the night hobby or perhaps I should find some early morning television show to become addicted to. For the moment the only result is my new desire for a three bedroom house or apartment. I think that if she only had her own room it would be so much easier to let her cry it out a bit and get through this stage.
The good news is that I have plenty of time to think about this around 3:00 am every morning.
Perhaps I could think of some sort of fun middle of the night hobby or perhaps I should find some early morning television show to become addicted to. For the moment the only result is my new desire for a three bedroom house or apartment. I think that if she only had her own room it would be so much easier to let her cry it out a bit and get through this stage.
The good news is that I have plenty of time to think about this around 3:00 am every morning.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The breakdown
Everyday at about 5:30 we experience the breakdown. It is the time of day that we can count on Connor breaking down about something. Yesterday it was a picture he had colored and left at the YMCA. The day before it was a lost sticker.
Our new tactic is to charm him out of his breakdown by saying something ridiculous. A super lame joke seems to do the trick just right.
One of these days he may figure out that a little nap during quiet time at school would do wonders for him. Now if we could just convince him of that.
Our new tactic is to charm him out of his breakdown by saying something ridiculous. A super lame joke seems to do the trick just right.
One of these days he may figure out that a little nap during quiet time at school would do wonders for him. Now if we could just convince him of that.
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