Father and Son

Father and Son
Their first walk together.

Both T's at the pasture gate

Both T's at the pasture gate
T2 isn't sure about the goats. They look a little scary.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Water Under the Bridge

It has been 2 months since I posted. So much has gone on. Some of it good, some of it not so good and some of it horrible. The last group is what I consider water under the bridge. Time to move on.

At my last post, C was leaving for the Czech Republic. She has really enjoyed herself. She's seen things that I can only dream of seeing. The last two and a half months, she has lived in a fantasy world. All of us are ready for her to come home. She'll be here on the 20th.

K, N, and F have all had birthdays. F's 1st birthday celebration included the entire family. N celebrated his 2nd birthday with the immediate family after supper with a John Deere cake. Finally, K celebrated her 3rd birthday at the fair during a goat show. Several goat loving friends joined us for Dora cake.

T2's temper tantrums have not disappeared, but they are better. They don't last as long and aren't as violent; at least when I am at home. She is very selfish, wanting everything for herself. She has tantrums anytime someone else gets something or does something she doesn't do. However, she doesn't want to share anything she gets and wants everyone's undivided attention. She gets very upset if one of the other children gets to go with me and she has to stay home, even if she has gone solo with me the past 4 times.

K has started having tantrums at bedtime. I think she is mimicking her sister. The screaming grinds on my nerves. It is hard to remain calm and focused when a 3 foot firecracker is exploding in the middle of the room. Especially this one, because she screams forever! I hate having to wait out her tantrums. They don't end. She has been known to still be crying 2 hours later over something minute. Suggestions are always welcome.

F has learned to arch her back and throw herself into the floor when she doesn't get what she wants or is told to leave something alone. I simply step over her and ignore. she will stop crying, get up, move to where I am, and start over again. After a few times, I take her by the hand and guide her to the playpen. That breaks her heart, but doesn't slow down the tantrum. Maybe she'll catch on and give up the tantrums.

My final tantrum thrower is N. He has learned how to throw a tantrum that interrupts everything. When they start, I put him in his bed. He, too, can cry and scream for over an hour.

B doesn't throw tantrums. She tattles. She is constantly pointing out the faults of others. Her self-esteem is so low, that she has to make sure I see how much better she is the her siblings. She continually compares what and how much others get to her. For example, I usually give her the glass with the most liquid in it, because she is the least likely to spill it. However, the other day her younger sister got the glass with 1/4 inch more juice. B looked at the glasses, asked me if I was sure that the glass in front of her was hers, made a remark about never getting enough juice to drink, slid her glass over until it was beside her sister's, and in a final effort to rectify my gross mistake, pointed out that the levels were definitely not the same. Her juice did not go past the last ring. I must have given her and her sister the wrong glasses. I explained that I wasn't trying to get them exactly the same and she should be glad I gave her the glass she had instead of the one I poured for N. It contained half as much. Then she cried. In the end, she didn't even drink all of her juice.

B has made straight A's at school. Hooray! She is the mother hen of the group. She takes care of everyone. Even the one's that don't want her to. A few weeks ago she started taking dance classes. She was worried that it would be hard. Now, she realizes that it isn't difficult at all and she's having a good time.

T2 is finally in school. That has helped with her behavior. She is such a cute kid. My prayer for her continues to be that God will heal her on many levels. She is standing beside me, giggling and being silly.

We had a goat show last weekend. The 3 older girls competed in the showmanship ring. It was hard to tell who was in charge, the 2 legged kids or the 4 legged ones. B came home and set goals for the next show. T2 and K didn't really understand what was happening. All they knew was that they walked with the goat and got a piece of candy and a blue ribbon. They can't wait to do it again. N and F liked the attention. The best thing about the show was that it was at a county fair, complete with rides and food. The kids got to ride the merry-go-round.

Bella had surgery today. T1 has gone to get her. T1 isn't sure what direction she wants her life to go. She loves working with veterinary stuff and with video production. she has been talking about giving up goats. She doesn't feel that goat herding is what God wants her to do. I just want her to find something she enjoys and go to work. She is talented in so many ways: dance, animal husbandry, video production, and she has great organization skills.