Last week was crazy.  It was busy and crazy.  But in a semi-good way.  I’m very fortunate to be staying at home…I love it!  It’s where I’m meant to be.  But with that comes the responsibilities of other things that I might normally hire someone to do.  Since I’m home though, money is tighter and, well, I have more time.  So I’ve been typing a lot.  I will tell you why I’m typing so much later on, but basically, I’m at the computer all. day. long.   It kind of hurts my eyes.  And the work I’m doing is tedious, but it’s getting done.

When I’m not typing, I am wanting to work on my Etsy!!  It’s up, but I haven’t “broadcasted” it yet, just because I’m still tweaking stuff and adding new products.  I suppose if youwanted to take a peek you could.  The name of my shop wouldn’t be hard to guess!

This weekend we escaped the heat and went north to my parent’s cabin.  We took advantage of our park pass and went to the Grand Canyon again (3rd time this year, yay!).  We are spoiled because my brother works there as a tour guide (seriously, he’s the best.  If you’re thinking of going to the park, go see him for an amazing tour of the Canyon).  We had a nice little picnic on the lawn of El Tovar.  We got ice cream at Bright Angel Lodge, and just had a relaxing day, mostly!  Here are a few pictures from our time there.

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

Mason, Emma, and Uncle Geoff.

We're working on sitting lady like with dresses. :-/

Okay, folks.  Off typing again.  I’ll be updating with some fun stuff shortly!  Happy Monday!

What did you do this weekend?  Seems like so many places had crazy weather.  How did you escape?

checking out the view

If you read my posts from yesterday and Friday, you know that we went to the Grand Canyon this past weekend.  We had a great time.  I won’t lie, there were some bumps in the road.  Those bumps were called zoloft and concerta, 2 new medications Emma was starting.  The big debate between Brett and I (actually not a debate, more like a discussion or a decision) was whether to start it before or after our trip.  We didn’t know how our trip to the Grand Canyon would go.  And we also had reservations at El Tovar to end the day.  It was going to be a long day, and the kids would be with us, of course.

We decided to try the medication on Friday.  We decided that it couldn’t hurt.  There was already a good chance her day would be off since there was no school on Thursday.  For the majority of Friday, she was dazed and a bit lethargic.  I learned that is called the seratonin effect.  She was so out of it that she spent the majority of the day in my classroom and then I took her home when I got off of work (talk about the benefit of working at their school!).

Fast forward to Saturday.  She was having mood swings.  Lots of them.  They made me very nervous.  The fear of taking an uncontrollable child to the Grand Canyon (aka the biggest hole in the earth) was very present.  She was to hold an adult’s hand at all times.  I didn’t want her close to the edge at all.  To sum it up, we made 4 stops on this tour that my brother took us on.  Her behavior was erratic during 2 of the 4 stops.  On the way to the last one, we had to bribe her to get some protein in her…cheese and ham slices.  It worked, spiked her blood sugar up, and she was golden.  We were able to watch the sunset in peace and quiet (oh yeah, except for the 4 year old who was whining).  Dinner at El Tovar went great.  No issues with her behavior, no issues with her eating.  She ate like a champ and sat quietly while the rest of us finished.  Not bad for a kid who’s used to eating dinner by 6:00 every night.

Okay, so here’s the big question: How do you enjoy the moment when your thoughts, concerns, anxieties are with your child?  Is it possible to focus on your children while you enjoy the day and the moment?  I don’t feel like I was fully able to savor the sunset at the Grand Canyon because I was a little nervous that my kids might run over the edge.  Just a little.   Have you ever been in a situation like this?  Perhaps you had your kids at a wedding.  Or on a special trip.  The circumstances are numerous.

How would you, or how did you handle it?

This past weekend was spent up north with family.  I had my cousin, Great Aunt, and Great Uncle here from Kentucky.  We spent the weekend up north and on Saturday we made the trek to the Grand Canyon.  My brother is a tour guide there.  Pretty cool, huh!  Anyway, the goal was to get to the Desert View by sunset.  But more on that later.  Here are some pictures from our time with the family!

Me and my cousin Stuart

I had never seen an elk in real life before…let alone this close!

Me, my Aunt Libby, and my Mom. We were facing the sun, hence the horrible squinting I'm doing!

Mason and Oma

Stuart, Uncle Frank, and Aunt Margie

I love this picture…she's in awe.

Oma and Emma

We’re headed up north again today.

We’ll probably see less of this:

More of this:

And definitely this:

I’m excited to spend time with out-of-town family and to show Emma the Grand Canyon!

The day of the IEP meeting, Brett and I were able to get away for the weekend.  Turns out it was a much-needed weekend away!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for keeping the kids for us.  As I was dropping the kids off and going through the run-down of the weekend, Emma was pushing me out the door telling me to leave!  It was great. I knew they’d miss us but when the kids are pushing me to leave, it makes me happy knowing they’re happy to stay there.

So Brett and I headed up north.  My parents were in Eastern Europe, so we had the cabin to ourselves.  Oh yeah, and we also had my dad’s Nissan Z convertible.  Turns out it was the perfect weekend to have the top down!  We met my Uncle Mike for dinner that night.  Had breakfast the next morning at a place worthy of a spot on Diners Drive Ins and Dives called Miz Zips.  Um, they make their own donuts there…and they’re made to order. Hello Heaven!! After breakfast we headed up to the Grand Canyon.  In almost 10 years of being together, Brett and I had never been to the Grand Canyon together!  Seems unbelievable.  We had a great time. My brother works up there now selling and leading tours of the canyon, and he got us tickets to the IMAX.  We drove just a bit visiting various spots and we even had a drink (over-priced, of course) at the famed El Tovar Hotel. It was the perfect day.  Here are some pictures!

Brett would never get this close to the edge!

On Sunday, we stopped at Montezuma’s Castle.  As a native, I found it odd that I hadn’t ever been here!  Of course, my parents will probably correct me and tell me that I had been there when I was 2.  So, let me rephrase by saying that I don’t recall ever visiting Montezuma’s Castle.  It was sooo cool!

I think it’s so important for couple’s to get away when they can.  And I have to emphasize that it’s even more important, I think, when you have a child with special needs.  As you read earlier, Emma’s whole education consumed me.  I couldn’t think of anything else.  And the wheels in my brain just kept turning.  It was nice to have the weekend away to recharge.  And even if a weekend away isn’t doable, then even just a date night is a great way to  reconnect and recharge.  I learned this early on after Emma’s diagnosis.  I needed to trust other people when they cared for her (and of course, not just anyone).  And I needed to spend the time away enjoying the moment, and not worrying about my kids.  Not always easy, but proves beneficial in the end.

Where are some of your places to go?