Good Days and Bad Days

I've been thinking about starting this blog for quite some time now. After reading Raising Your Spirited Child (a guide for parents whose child is more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and energetic) by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, I just didn't know what to do with all the thoughts racing through my head. Here was a book that described our daughter HJ perfectly. Of all the discipline and parenting books I had read, from James Dobson's The Strong-Willed Child to The Happiest Toddler on the Block to countless others, I could tell this book was what I had been looking for. Honestly, I was overwhelmed with parenting. My main question every single day was, how am I going to do this? How am I going to be the kind of mother my daughter needs when I feel like I'm barely surviving each day?

There's a story in Raising Your Spirited Child  where the author describes a preschooler who didn't want to get his hand painted when the class was making an art project for Thanksgiving. The author explains how the teacher successfully got the little boy to participate in the project, but only after several tries where the child first observed other kids making the hand-prints, and only after the teacher slowly got him used to the feel of a paintbrush tickling his hand, one little finger at a time. In the end the boy was thrilled to have completed the project, thanks to a teacher who was able to approach the child with a creative and patient way to help him overcome his sensory issues.

HJ actually went through the same exact ordeal when creating her turkey handprint project at preschool. Now my first thought after reading this example in the book was, if it takes my daughter that long to successfully complete a small art project, how are we going to make it through the challenges that face us each day? And by "challenges" I mean simply getting dressed, getting out the door, having a playdate or going to a class, eating dinner, taking a bath, and getting to bed!

But after my initial reaction, I started thinking Ok, we CAN do this... because first of all, we just have to since I'm a stay at home mom with HJ and her little sis L, but also because I want to help my daughter be successful in all aspects of her life and just ENJOY life. And really, my husband and I just love her so much, and we want to be the best parents we can be for her.

Long story short, I'm hoping that this blog will help me chronicle the daily ups and downs, the good days and bad days, and all the little moments that I don't want to forget (and maybe some that I do!)... Oh, and my husband also thinks it's a great idea... mostly because I'm always keeping him up late at night wanting to talk about all my concerns regarding HJ. So, here goes...