So far, she doesn’t equate the rash with her helper arm. She thinks the bumps are bug bites… And I let her think that. I don’t want her to connect something negative to her helper arm. So I’ll use the “bug bite” excuse for as long as I can.

Jordan LOVES her new dress. It has a Missouri Tiger in the front of it. I bought her a new rubberband that is covered with team symbols and colors. Today she wore it all to school along with Tiger socks and her shiny black shoes. Ahhhh. Stylish team spirit.

So I took it another level. I found super cool customizable team decals that show a little stick family that clearly likes Mizzou to put on your car. How great is that? To make it even more fun… I customized the little girl decal to have a little arm just like Jordan! When I started cutting it, Jordan tried to stop me until she realized why I was cutting the left arm of the girl. Then she reminded me not to cut the right arm since she has a hand on that side. It’s great to know she thinks she needs to remind me that she has a hand.

The princess experience:

Jordan bumped into a group of old friends (these two girls were in preschool with them from the time they were infants until Jordan was almost three years old). This was a really similar experience to her birthday party back in December. That’s probably why Jordan acted like she was in charge. She certainly had fun.

First soccer lesson:

Jordan has gone to many soccer games and practices for her brother. But she had her very first one and did SUCH a great job. She listened, she learned and her coach was super impressed. So was I!

Cardinal’s game:

We got to go to a St. Louis Cardinals game thanks to the kids’ Uncle Barry. The kids adore their uncle and Jordan was super excited to play with him. He had to move away from St. Louis a few years ago… but he comes back as often as possible to play with us and his old friends (many who we adore as well). Jordan was goofy during the game and thought it would be okay to turn on the high pitched girl scream anytime the crowd cheered. But we all had a good time anyway.

A trip to the Magic House:

Finally – tonight’s concert fun. I caught her dancing… a very silly dance to Big Smith. For some reason there’s no audio… but she was SO silly. That’s how things are these days. She goes from amazing to silly to exhausting every hour or so.

Life with Miss Jordan these days have come with a solid number of challenges that come with a four-year-old who is strong willed and confident. I’ve said this before, I don’t want to take that away from her. I just want a little bit of my sanity back.

While I was recovering from my knee surgery, I needed to rely on my mom for a good portion of time while Randy was teaching journalists in China. For some reason, the mix of grandma and a mom who couldn’t walk very well led to an extremely rebellious little girl. I reached my limit. So I decided to borrow a behavior trick Jordan’s school uses: The Jewel Jar.

When Jordan does something really well, she gets a jewel from one jar and puts it in the other. Simple things like eating dinner politely, going to bed without screaming and coming home from school without a fight gets her a jewel. We’ve used it for almost two weeks and I’m feeling positive that this might be helpful.

Jordan is clearly growing up (she demanded that she carry my purse today)… and It’s tricky for me to react properly every time. It’s tricky to not fight over silly things. But after having a conversation with some other Sammy’s Friends kids, I realize we’re all better off being open and saying: AHHHHH! Help! My kid is strong willed and confident and RUDE! I’m trying as hard as I can to get rid of the rude and keep that strong will and confidence. (Wish me luck.)

Jordan and I were hanging out on the rocks near one of our favorite coves in Maine when Jordan found a rock that looked like a cellphone. She started talking on her phone and having imaginary conversations. She didn’t want me to shoot video of her… but I snuck a little moment:

I can’t stop laughing every time I watch.

I told myself that my kids would only do one thing at a time as well. That opinion changed when Jordan came into my life. I started to focus on skills and activities that could enhance Jordan’s skills. She showed a lot of interest in dance before she was two and needed to work on her balance. So when she was 2 and a half, I put her in dance. When she turned three she had a chance to take part in equestrian therapy which is really great to help build her core strength. I couldn’t say no to that. Now I’ve signed her up for four weeks of soccer. It’s 45 minutes for four Saturday mornings. It will happen while she’s taking dance and before equestrian therapy starts up for the Fall. Honestly, I’m wondering if we have to skip equestrian since I also have Jordan’s brother, Cameron, in soccer and piano… and possibly a recreational flag football team (non-competitive in every way – it focuses on skills). In total, I could end up with each kid taking part in three activities a week.

It hits a little closer to home when you see articles like these that claim I should just ignore my kids. I agree that I should put the technology away more often… but I’m not totally convinced that unstructured play is completely removed from my kids’ lives. A little bit of structure and free time seems to make sense. My kids both seem to be better behaved when they run around, especially Cameron. And I would love for them both to try different activities and see what they like the most. So far, Jordan loves dance and horses and Cameron is really enjoying piano and soccer. I want them to learn, play and participate in activities where they interact with other kids outside the structure of school. But with all the running around, will worry about articles that say I’m doing it all wrong. But to me, I feel it’s right for us.

She has thrown tantrums over just about everything… but not her helper arm. She’s added it into a daily patterns before and after vacation. I think I’ve figured out why we have some serious buy-in with her arm.

First, it’s because it’s pretty. So very very pretty. All that princess action makes her proud to wear it. It isn’t my style, but that doesn’t matter one bit. I need her to love it and she does love it. Second, it’s because she can use it. Check this out:

I challenged Jordan to draw with her helper arm when we got to school one day this week… gave her a little instruction to hold onto the paper (or coffee filter, whatever works) and she did a little drawing. It turned in to mostly a scribble but she tried to write a few letters in the mix. It was awesome.

The more she uses it, the more she realizes it’s a useful tool. That’s the other reason why she’s really buying into it. She’s growing logic. I realize she’s four and wants to rebel against everything I request, but I think she’s seeing real purpose to her helper arm. I don’t require a time limit on her use. I just expect her to wear it at the start of every day at school. At home, she uses it when I see a need, but it isn’t required. She’s great to using it. She loves having an elbow. I’m so happy for her.

But that will be in four to five months. Last week I had major knee surgery and now I’m seeing the world as a mommy in a little slower pace. And Jordan isn’t thrilled.

She is thrilled to return to school this week after being out of town for more than a month.

I’ve been able to pick her up from school and snag her brother from camp, make dinner… and then physically collapse. No trips to the pool, no playing in the backyard, no trying as hard as I can to refocus Jordan’s brother from his new Harry Potter Wii game… I am taking a late evening nap! Work, physical therapy, kids… I’m tired.

I’m looking forward to making a rapid return to the bending-knee world… but for now, I have even more respect for those who deal with physical challenges every day. Mine will improve and I know I’ll be back on track before December. I raise my glass of water and bottle of ibuprofen to the many people I know who never complain and always live happy and strong days.

Jordan and her brother have spent so much time together that I actually think they like each other from time to time. They’ve actually slept in three different beds together in the last three nights. Last night they were so tired, they didn’t even try to challenge each other. They just passed out. Heck, they woke up this morning and actually played together and never attempted to wake us. That has to be a miracle in some form don’t you think?

We were very very busy since we left Maine. First, we drove to Maryland. Jordan got to meet a little girl who I’ve really wanted her to meet for a long time. They’re about 8 months apart in age and I knew they’d love each other. We only got to play for a couple of hours, but they were pals pretty quickly. Jordan didn’t want to leave… But we had plans to meet up with her uncle at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The departure was sad, but I’m so glad they got to hang out.

Naps or no naps, Jordan was up for all kinds of adventure when we traveled to the mountains of North Carolina. She got to hike and climb and explore all kinds of waterfalls and rivers. I swear she has no fear. She didn’t want help and she wanted to do everything her brother was doing. It was stunning and exhausting to try to make sure she was safe.