A day in our lives

This is a VERY picture heavy post, because it is a photo journal of one of our days.
I took over two hundred photos but chose just the ones that best describe our lives to share.

This project started out in my head about a week ago; 

I got to thinking that as we are on a waiting list to get our beans evaluated for Autism perhaps it would 

be a helpful thing for the evaluators to see what a few different days are like for him (outside of the eval)

I have no idea if it will actually be useful or not,

but I truly found that as I shadowed my kids with a camera today it will certainly be useful for me. 

I realized a few places that we need to pray about improving our 

schedule but I also found moments that I would have likely overlooked.

Moments to be thankful for! 

So enjoy a very VERY honest look at just an average day around our home.

My hope is that in sharing here I can encourage other moms!


8:55am

Carter J almost always starts out our mornings spending some time with Lydia, he ADORES her. She makes him smile like nobody else can.

about 10 mins later he's hungry again,
breakfast #2 here

 he NEVER finishes,
2 more uneaten snacks will follow.
often they end up smashed up,
especially if it is crackers
or chips... Don't understand this,
 he's done it since he was tiny.

 9:20am

time for some OT, I try to make this time happen
 every morning before asking anything of him.

the other kids have joined in OT and Lydia is awake, time for smiles and wiggles! 

Something breaking in our house is a daily thing,
 this is just because of poor spacial awareness
it is not behavioral.

OT is getting a little out of hand... I ask them to calm down.

My shadow Mort,  He's a good dog!

9:40am

as I feared, OT without me got to be to much, first meltdown of the day...
Quiet space calmed him pretty fast.

I want to explain here that when I say meltdown this is not a behavioral tantrum,
this is unresponsive, he isn't looking for any feedback or to be consoled..
 In fact if I try he usually escalates. He sits and stares and screams no over and over,
getting what he wants does nothing...
Only quiet spaces bring him back when he gets like this.

Time to dress the princess and practice some tummy time... I ADORE her!

Evie asks me to take her portraits
in her new bird shirt.

BRRRRR, it snowed last night!

10:11am

SUCESS! First day this week I got him to get dressed without a battle!
 He'd been in PJ's for a while.
I should mention here, it's a "hood up" kind of day.
I can tell when he picks a hood and doesn't
lower it, he is feeling very overwhelmed by
 all the input and is over aroused. "High engine"

Time to start school, while I get the big kids going, Evie gets to play with an educational toy.

10:15am

Caleb's favorite place to work, his bed.

Let the obsessing about the missing lego guy commence.
 This is day 6 of not being able to
let it go that we cannot find it. He CANNOT be redirected...
 I give him 5 mins alone
to calm down and then inform him he needs
 to come start his school work.

Jaden works hard.

Some days it's better to have a sibling explain math, not sure why just is. He asked for me to go away and for Jaden to help.
He finished his lessons in record time.

and went right back to obsessing about the lego guy.
Maybe he is on the shelves above the washer.
I spend my life finding him UP HIGH.
 Last week he was trying to climb out
an upstairs window onto the roof because
 he thought the lego guy might be up there!!! 

It bears mentioning here that we spent a good hour looking for everybody's shoes,

 I HATE shoes, they are my nemesis.

Finally in the car and Taye has his first meltdown of the day,
He doesn't do well with transitions and HATES
going into the city because it is so "loud and busy".

11:47am

Grocery shopping, I've found that giving Carter J a job a REALLY important job makes our trips out much more tolerable.
Holding Lydia makes both him and her happy!  We ate lunch in the car.

SO thankful for my big boys helping get Lydia in and out of the car,
it truly kills my back!
Visiting a friend for her birthday and playing with friends.

2:54pm

Back home and the hood has come down...
Now he is seeking BIG time.
and continuing to obsess about the lego guy,
 now he thinks it's in
the big brother's room.

tempers flare.

I set Evie up with some books for a quiet time

Taye and Jaden put away the few groceries I managed to
 grab in my confusion of shopping with six,
not because of the kids (they were excellent)
 but because people think we are such a sight that they ALL have
to stop and ask me a million questions
 and ask if they are ALL mine. 

3:05pm

Taye's engine goes WAY high, he has a meltdown (meaning inconsolable)
I wait for him to become responsive
 and I send him to do some serious swinging
and grabbing stuffed animals off the floor while he
 swings and then making baskets with them.
GREAT for that Vestibular system.

Chore time

REALLY struggling, angry and overwhelmed... I step in and work with him doing some swinging and flipping.

He calms down and feels better.

still seeking and chewing on everything... angry at everyone.
Wants to be alone but can't keep himself there.

taking a body break all alone for about 10 mins.

Jaden helps Evie do her chores and then marks them down on his Ipod for her to show daddy when he gets home.

then he plays piano for her.

 through most of this I've hardly put her down, time for a diaper change and some playtime.

back onto the lego guy... I'd pay a hundred dollars for that lego guy now... Seriously!!! 

My awesome worker finishes up the last of his chores.

 3:39pm

Now he is sure someone STOLE said lego guy.

stimming... I try turning on some classical music... no dice

I have Jaden feed Lydi this bottle so that I can go give Carter J
some joint compressions and try to help him out.

Taye does his chores (by the way, he sweeps EVERY day... I don't get it! Messy people!) 

I'm looking at the clock every few moments now...
 getting worn out.

He goes into complete shut down and rocks for about 10 minutes, won't answer me and I don't dare touch him.

out of pure desperation to sit down I put on a ballet movie for Evie.

I sit down and look at the spd private
 group I'm in for a moment
to remember I'm not the only mom out here doing this.
Caleb reads his Bible on his Ipad

4:45pm

His arousal is to low now, he crashes completely.

Daddy is home!!! Whew... we survived!

time for daddy to check in everyones chores and school work... I love that accountability.

He storms into the kitchen and starts working,
I think YEAH his arousal is coming back to just right... Wrong... He's just showing us how displeased he is
Walks around inside the sack for about 30 mins.

5:54pm

rocking again; no words

comes out "just fine" and wants to vacuum to get his star for his chores today.

dinner time, notice that most of the meal he stood by the table... upset about something.

she is SO stinking cute!!! 

daddy time! 

6:43pm

another meltdown

after he calms we get him in his body sox

works great for about 30 mins

stuck on the lego guy again... ALMOST bedtime... 

Now of course this is just a peak into our days,
I didn't do much housework yesterday because I was simply taking pictures.

There is also reading and snuggling and playtimes that I didn't get pictures of because
I was a part of it.
I hope that this gives some understanding
 of how the days of a homeschool mom with a couple of special needs kids goes,
 no two days is the same honestly. (except the obsessing about something)

Please please, ask me questions,
 about anything you saw in today's post...
I would LOVE to answer them in a follow up post.