It's quiet tonight. Aubrey has a friend sleeping over but they're out walking around the neighborhood. Devon, after two nights of her "twin" sleeping here, is spending the night at her twin's house. Aubrey will like that - no little sister pestering her and her friend.
Wednesday Aubrey goes to spend a few days with her birth-mother, Roze, and one of her brothers (Aubrey's, not Roze's). She is really excited. My main concern is who is going to take care of Aubrey's menagerie. The dog and cats I have covered, but not the chickens and the geckos and chameleon. I actually like the chameleon, but I think it's a bit more work to take care of then her geckos...she's trying to talk Devon into doing it. We'll see -- and even if she does, Devon's only 8, it'll still be me and Ron doing the bulk of it, I'm sure. Yuck.It'll be good for Aubrey to get away for a few days. I'm thrilled she's going to get to spend a decent amount of time with her brother, Danny. She's always loved seeing him and wants to have a closer relationship with him. Hopefully, the time they have together will have smooth sailing with no hiccups. She's had a tough time lately and has started having anxiety attacks - no fun for anyone! Plus she doesn't usually believe us when we tell her it's an anxiety attack she's having. She hasn't felt well for more than a day at a time for a few weeks now, and the doctors feel it's primarily anxiety causing it. She has had a lot of stressful things happen recently, and now we need to find a way to help her acknowledge and deal with stress - no way you can live a life without stress at various points!
That's something that I struggle with as well....lots of stressors and how do I cope with them? I've really been trying to be more aware of my tone of voice with the girls and my reactions to their behavior, both good and bad :) Aside from me being the world's meanest mom, who Devon hates every other day or so, I really think I've been doing pretty well. And Devon is figuring things out, too. Her nature has always been to test the limits, and I doubt that will ever change. Her struggle is figuring out when to stop before she hits a consequence that is beyond the price she's willing to pay. If you've ever seen the movie Jurassic Park, you'll understand what I mean when I say that Devon is a velociraptor. I haven't figured out what kind of dinosaur Aubrey is yet. Which one is the most social?
The last few weeks have been really busy, both at work and at home. It's so rare to have quiet time to just sit and relax and not have a million things to do or the girls pulling at me. I do have stuff to do, but it's not anything I can be doing now so I don't have to feel like there are things I should be doing instead of finally getting a chance to relax and write my blog.....almost sounds like I'm rationalizing, doesn't it? There are things I need to organize and calls to make, but it's too late on a Saturday night to be able to do any of them - yea!!!
Honestly, the hardest thing about the past few weeks has been to resist all the junk food and candy I've received as gifts! I did break down tonight and eat some Harry & David caramel corn - I just love it! But the rest I'm trying to give away - nobody in this house really needs it, and we've all been snacking way too much. I've worked too hard, and sacrificed too much, to undo it for a piece (or two or four) of candy - and I want the rest of my family to be right there with me being healthier in the future. After all, Devon is the only one of us who couldn't stand to lose some weight...and she's the one who is most watchful of what everyone is eating - and she's my special gatekeeper, always asking if I can have something, is it allowed? Everyone needs a little help, right? I'm very grateful for the support of my friends and family - and a big Bronx cheer to everyone who gave me candy and cookies etc for the holidays!!!
