It is so amazing how much difference a schedule can make for a child with special needs. I think we all do better with scheduling-to some degree, but apparently, this has been the missing link with Sam! This summer has been a difficult one. He has gradually gotten more frustrated and vented that in lots of different ways. We've had so many more messes, so many more meltdowns and lots of him tormenting his siblings! Just this past Saturday, he cracked the glass of our ipad with a knife. He wasn't even angry-just curious. Fortunately, we were able to get it fixed as good as new, but still, it was quite stressful!
Last night, before bed, out of pure desperation, he and I drew out a plan for today. My drawings were awesome! Okay, they weren't, but he didn't care! I also enlisted the help of my older kids. Mitchell (13 yo) was in charge of Olivia (6 yo) for the whole day. He would help her with meals and entertain her, etc. Abby (11) was in charge of Noah (3). This freed me up to focus entirely on Sam.
Things went so well! It was the best day we've had in a long time. Now to just repeat tomorrow!
As for the workout--I got up at 5 am again. Well, actually, I woke up on my own at 4:50! I guess I'm already creating that habit! I made it on the elliptical for the whole hour-which wasn't easy. I was ready to be done at the 10 minute mark. But I talked myself through it, 5 minutes at a time, until I made it the whole hour! I felt AMAZING afterwards! It really is such a rush!
Tonight I attended a water aerobics class and LOVED it! It was really what I needed from a flexibility/stretching/relaxation standpoint! I plan to try and go every Monday and Wednesday!
My eating was much better today. For dinner, I dished it up on the kids plate and didn't snag a single thing from any of theirs. I left soon after we ate, and I was careful to not feel to full so that exercising would be uncomfortable. It all worked out well!
Plus, I remembered to buy my plain greek yogurt today, so I'm very excited to have that for breakfast!
I'm already starting to feel little changes, which is amazing in only 3 days. I feel like I can breathe better and move better. That probably sounds weird, but its amazing how tired and sluggish I had gotten. It's nice to know that even just a few changes can help our bodies so much!
Continued thanks for all the support! And for my peeps who read the blog for digital scrapbooking news-I'll have some sneak peeks of my new products when I post tomorrow! I'll give you a little hint though--I hope you have lots of summer, swimming, swim lesson photos to scrap!!
4 comments:
So glad you found a way to help with Sam! That is awesome! Every little bit helps!
And, way to go on day #3!! I wonder if sometimes it's even just the change in our mind-set that makes it easier to move and breath. I know after just a couple of days of walking, I felt a difference too. Keep it up, girl! You inpsire me!
An hour on the elliptical - Wow!
So glad that you managed to push through. Trust your days get better and better with the new schedule.
yay for schedules!! You mentioned Greek yogurt. Sometimes I add just 1T or so of almond butter in and it tastes fabulous! I always add vanilla because it doesn't really add calories but adds such nice flavor. Sometimes I add honey. Keep going!
Schedules are a must at my house. If we ever have anything out of the norm, like tomorrow we are going swimming with a large group of people, we talk about it a few days in advance and write it on the schedule. My oldest is a visual person so he has to see it and read it for it to sink in. We do social stories to for his behavior to get him back on track.
WTG! Keep up the great work!
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