Things are hard

Things are hard right now.

I am not cut out to be a stay at home parent. This is only day two of Christmas "vacation" and I am losing my ever loving mind. Do you know what is getting me through? Alcohol. Baileys and coffee to be exact.

You might think this is a Down syndrome-is-hard-post. It's not. It's a 3-kids-including-2-two-year-olds-who-have-hit-their-terrible-twos-is-hard-post. However, the "highlight" of the afternoon was trying to get each of my naked 2 years old to pee on the potty. Because I had the bad sense to bring each in individually to allow them some time to sit and focus on the task at hand, Phoenix decided to poor an entire jug of water on the kitchen floor and encouraged the twin who was not with me to help her trash the front hallway.

And before someone gets all judgey and thinks "Well, that's what you get when you have DS". That is not my reality AT ALL.

It seems like every single day the twins do something that make me shake my head and think "your sister NEVER did that when she was that age". And she didn't. She was a great 2 year old and a great 3-5 year old. So while Phoenix was a spectacular only child, I'd say being a sibling doesn't often bring out the best in her. Except in moments like today when she shared her small stack of advent chocolate with her sisters and with me. That was surprisingly selfless.

Having 2 two year olds is such hard work. There is crying and screaming and hitting and pulling hair. Every day. Of course there are nice moments here and there. When they cuddle with me in the couch or lean in for a hug and kiss. But parenting right now is a lot more work than it is fun.

It's hard not only because there are 2 going through this stage, but there are 2 who are so much harder than their older sister was. So having her in NO WAY prepared me for having them.

Here they are on top of the kitchen table. I was hoping they couldn't take off the clothe diapers but no such luck

Phoenix wearing her party dress

Ash and Wren peering through the child  safe gate at the top of the stairs. Note the sleepers on backwards to keep them from taking them off at night. 

The only nice pictures I could get in their party dresses 

Phoenix practising her home reading. 

The odd time where Wren (L) and Ash are wearing matching shirts

Phoenix reading and small update

Phoenix's kindergarten year is going well. The class has started their home reading program which is doing wonders for her confidence in reading. She can read full sentences now and no longer requires me to put my finger under each word as she moves along the sentence. I feel like this is a big step. She's also using visual cues by looking at the pictures to help understand what she is about to read. These are awesome gains; I'm thrilled.

 

Parent teacher interviews went well with me spending a lot of the meeting providing suggestions for the teacher to try in order to work through some challenges that Phoenix is experiencing. Things like staged social situations and prepping Phoenix (and a small group of kids) for Phoenix to ask to join them to play. Also using high interest objects (like Elsa or Anna) to teach patterning concepts. I'm hoping these are implemented.

I also had a small win in terms of Phoenix's coding which wasn't changed like it should have been. After a few calls to Alberta Education I was presented with an IPP with the new code at the P/T conference. That felt wonderful. It was a nice acknowledgement that even though I am a parent putting up a fight, that I actually know what I'm talking about. Winning.


We had a big family party this past weekend (which I may or may not get to writing about). It was a loud and busy event with a lot of excitement and stimulation. I was very pleased to see her retreating upstairs for some quiet time when the noise and excitement was too much for her. A smart cookie this one is. She also knew to take some toys that she received up away from her sisters so as to have a chance to play with them by herself. Phoenix was incredibly well behaved and had a great time seeing her relatives.  She is such a joy.