Christmas Card

We definitely thought we would be spending Christmas in Eastern Europe when we made this our card, ha. Oh well! It is what it is :)

Adoption Blog

There is major stuff going on in Anna Gray's country.
Scary stuff that we, unfortunately, can't share.

We have been asked to make our adoption blog private to protect AG and the other waiting children.


If you'd like to continue following along with our adoption process, please comment/email me your email address and I will invite you. Keep in mind, the blog only allows 100 readers :/

PLEASE, PLEASE be in prayer for Anna Gray, our family, and the other waiting families.

Calm Down Basket

Yet another idea sparked by Pinterest, which led to a blog, which led to another blog, which ended with our "Calm Down Basket".

It has taken nearly five years to figure out what type of discipline/redirecting/teaching moments are the best for our kids. And it still changes.

Spankings don't work for my kids. Period.
Timeouts don't accomplish much either, to be honest.
We have been just talking to them, creating conversation and positive reinforcement- but they basically memorized a script to get it over with.

So, now we have the Calm Down Basket and so far, I gotta say, it's working quite well.
While it doesn't teach them anything, per se, about their behavior or the reasons behind it, it does give them a minute to step back and clear their head so they can make better choices- especially important for Cale. However, it is multipurpose and beneficial for the girls (and Mom and Dad!) as well.

If someone is getting angry/aggressive, too wild, frustrated- with anything- we just ask them to go get something from the Calm Down Basket. They sit over in the designated area (it's behind the couch in a quiet   less chaotic area of the house), choose one activity, and put it back when they're finished. I promise it's a coincidence that their Calm Down Basket is next to the bottle of wine from our wedding (Mommy and Daddy's calm down basket? ;)

Our basket consists of:

• The Calm Down Jar (a favorite of all three littles).

Just hot water and glitter glue in a pickle jar. Shake... and watch the glitter fall. It takes a few minutes for it all to get back to the bottom and somehow works wonders on my kids' attitudes in the process.

• Stretching
• Yoga/Tree pose

It takes so much concentration for them to get their balance, they forget what they were upset about!

• Tactile stimulation

We have stretchy/spikey toys, goop and silly putty.

• A kaleidescope
• Mini Etch-A-Sketch

All three LOVE the Etch-a-Sketch. They would play with it (quietly!) forever if we'd let them!

• Quiet books, they can choose to look at/read or ask a parent/sibling to read to them.
• Another favorite- the rice bucket. Seriously, an empty butter tub. We added dry rice and a few little trinkets- a marble, sharktooth, whatever we could find. Cale likes to comb his fingers thru the rice and dig for the "treasures". The girls like to shake the whole bucket.

It really is THAT simple. I spent a total of $3 in the dollar aisle, everything else we already had. The kids love it and it really has redirected them away from what would normally turn into a meltdown or fight.  :)