What Motivates You?

I am sitting here in a house that needs to be cleaned trying to get motivated to do some cleaning. Yesterday I was sick with a flu bug and Rudy's back was sore so neither of us did anything. It is amazing how fast a clean house can become messy when nobody is keeping up after it. I did load the dishwasher and sweep the floors a bit but there is still so much that needs to be done but I just can't seem to find the energy to do it. I am thinking I will clean the counters and fold some laundry and then just have Rudy and the two older kids help when they get home. I was so motivated last week but it seems that I have lost that motivation now. So how do you get motivated to clean the house or whatever it is that you need to do?

Changes

There are some changes happening in the Justinich household mainly with me(Stacy) but it of course affects us all. I have decided to stop doing childcare for my niece. The reason is because of Evan, it is getting to hard to take care of both of them the way I need to. If I am chaning Sophia, feeding her a bottle or rocking her to sleep I can't get to Evan if he is getting into anything, or something worse such as choking or having a seizure. The other day he threw all the kids toothbrushes into the toilet while I was feeding Sophia. Evan is just getting to be such a handful that I need to watch him all the time. When I originally started watching Sophia it was so she did not have to go to a home daycare with other kids where she could get sick or not get as much attention as she could at my house. Plus, it would be some extra money for our family. I think it was a good situation for us and my brother and his Fiance. So while I am sad to not see my sweet niece every week I know it is better for me to be able to focus on Evan at this time.

So once Sophia is in her new daycare I will have 4 mornings available. I am going to apply for a substitute yard duty with the school district, but until that happens I am going to be more dilligent about cleaning my house. Not just the front of the house but the whole house, it has been neglected lately. Now that my hubby is working days he is not in our bedroom and I can get in there and clean it, make my bed and open up the windows. I know this is old fashioned thinking but I really want to have the house looking decent when my husband gets home from work. I also try to have dinner started so that we can eat early. This will not happen everyday but I think this will be my way to show my appreciation for him working so hard to support our family and my staying home to care for Evan.

So here is the plan for my free days. Keep in mind that this is the plan and anything can disrupt the plan at anytime.
8:00- 9:30 clean, fold and put away laundry
9:30-10am - pick one extra thing to do, clean shower, wipe down cabinets, organize, etc. The detail work.
10am-11:45 - Do whatever I want. Scrapbook, watch Tv, computer, read sleep, shopping etc.

When Evan gets home I really want to spend some one on one time with him. So we will do coloring, workbooks, Dynavox time, Signing Time or just play whatever Evan wants to play.

I will probably have to pick up the front room again in the afternoon before I start dinner and again before I go to bed.

I also want to spend more quality time with the other two kids. For Gabriel I will play Legos with him or go on bike rides. For Cynthia I think we will start by looking for prom dress patterns and materials for her Jr. Prom dress. Also, we can go have a Starbucks or go to the show or go on walks so we can have those Mom/Daughter talks.

I also have respite set up for every Thursday from 4pm -9pm. So Rudy and I can plan some double dates or individual time. This way I can use all of my respite hours and have some free time as well. So if any of my friends want to get together for dinner, coffee, or just conversation, I am free on Thursdays. I think this will help with my feelings of being overwhelmed, overstressed and just generally stressed out.

So I think these changes are for the better. We will see how things go.

Cynthia's 17th Birthday

On Wednesday January 7th, our beautiful daughter Cynthia turned 17 years old. Rudy and I can hardly believe it. In just one short year she will be 18 and then after she graduates from high school she will head off to college.

We are so proud of Cynthia, she is doing awesome in school and does not give us any trouble at all. We can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

On her Birthday we went to BJ's for dinner and then we went to Target and bought Guitar Hero World Tour -The Complete Band game for the Wii. This is what Cynthia wanted and with the help of Grandma Josie and Grandpa Lawrence and Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Steve we were able to get it for her. It is a really fun game that all the family can get involved in. Cynthia does really well at the vocals part, Gabriel likes the drums. Evan picks up the microphone and pretends (well he thinks he is really singing) is singing.

We are so excited for the next steps in Cynthia's life. I think those of us who are adults with families etc, remember what it was like to be on the brink of life as a teenager.

Snow Fun

So the first weekend of 2009 we went to my Aunt and Uncle's House in MiWuk Village which is near Sonora. We celebrated Christmas with my Aunt and Uncle and also took some time to play in the snow.

Here is Cynthia sliding down the hill.


Gabriel getting ready to slide


Evan, Rudy and my nephew Nathan
on the way back up the hill.

Evan sliding down the hill. He loves being on the sled. We had a really hard time keeping his boots on. We bought a pair of boots to fit with his AFO's on but they were still too small and it would not work, so we used the pair from last year. But since Evan's left foot is so tight it is really hard to get it flat in the boot, so it kept coming off. By the time we were done and walking back we put Evan on the sled and had Rudy's glove on his foot to keep it warm. It was quite a sight. I am short on pics because my camera batteries died. We had tons of fun and plan on doing a snow trip again before the season ends.

Evan Had Botox today

Evan had botox injections today Everything went smoothly. We arrived at Shriner's at 6am and did our check in. Evan coughed while we were in there and sounded kind of junky so the nurses had to let the anesthiologist know so they could decide whether or not he was ok to go ahead with the procedure. I was a little annoyed because they said that he was coughing up yellow stuff but he was not it was only when he sneezed he had a yellow buger. And first I met with one nurse who asked me questions about his seizures, medications and sicknesses and she entered all of this in her computer. Then we had to meet with the 2nd nurse who listened to his lungs and she asked me all the same questions, apparently the information does not transfer. Well, the Dr. listened to his lungs and he was fine so we were able to go ahead with the procedure. I was glad I did not get up at 4am for no reason.

Evan did great and he was casted in the OR so we are back to serial casting which means the weekly visits to Shriner's. But I am more than willing to do it because last time he was walking flat footed for a couple of months and it was so awesome. We already have confirmation that his left leg is about 1/2 inch shorter than the right leg, which is normal but I can only imagine what effects this could have on him in the future, so walking flat footed will definitley help. And we are going to get his next pair of shoes a bit larger and keep the inserts in the left foot to lift it a little bit.

I did not take any pics but I might go to his school tomorrow so I can video him using his device to tell his friends about his cast.

New Year's Resolutions

I have really thought about some changes I want to make this year. I want these to be permanent changes and not just something that lasts a few weeks or months. So here it goes

1. Start Weight Watchers and stick to it. This basically means I am going to start eating better and keeping track of what I eat. I have to find some pics of myself and hang them up on the fridge and in the car as an incentive to not eat crappy food. Plus, if I start eating healthier now then I will hopefully have less problems when I am older. Also, my other motivation is to be a good example for my kids. I would really hate for them to struggle with weight like I have. I am going to set my goal for 50lbs but measure it in 10lbs increments. Maybe I will get a little treat after each 10 lbs such as some scrapbook stuff or a new outfit.

2. Sit down with Rudy every pay day and plan a budget, more importantly stick to the budget. With my IHSS income, and babysitting income I am making about what I would at a part time job, so if we stick to a budget we should be able to manage just fine with all the necessites such as groceries and gas, and get help with the fun stuff such as putting the kids in extra-curricular activites.

3. Keep my house more clean and organized. My house is not dirty all the time but I have a lot of piles of papers and mail that just get moved around and then shoved in bags when we have company. I have a great filing cabinet and I am going to reorganize that so I can file things such as pay stubs, medical info for Evan, important papers. I also want to have the front of the house and my bedroom more clean so that if I have unexpected company I will not be embarrassed. Not super clean because that would just be unrealistic, but the floors vaccumed and mopped, the kitchen counters clean and wiped off and the dishes loaded in the dishwasher, toys and food picked up off the floor.

4. Work with Evan more on things such as letter and number recognition, read more stories and play games with him. He got two games for Christmas that will really help me to know what he knows. He got Memory, and Candyland Castle. Plus he also got a puzzle which I hope will be challenging for him.

5. Play with Gabriel - I am always so busy with Evan and cleaning or have kids that I am babysitting at the house, that I do not have tons of time for Gabriel. But I really want to sit and play with him. Legos or video games, things that he will remember when he is older and when he has kids.

6. Do some one on one stuff with Cynthia, such as movies or lunch. Remember to pick up something fun for her every now and then such as a Starbucks card or a small fun thing. The boys always point at toys and stuff they want at the store and sometimes they get it. Cynthia is out of that stage, but should still get a little something. She likes to read so books would be a great thing also.

7. Get back into the routine of church, now that gas prices are lower and my hubby is awake on the weekends, I would really like to get back into church. I really enjoyed going to Capital Christian Center and was so thrilled with their Champions program for Evan, but it got to be too much in gas with my driving to Lincoln on Fridays and then to Rancho for Church on Sundays.

8. Show appreciation to my husband and try to have a date once a month.

Well, that covers it so far. For me #1 and #2 are probably going to be the hardest. But it is my goal to struggle through the urges be it food or financial. What are your resolutions? Do you even make them?