Counseling

Well, it's that time of year again.  When I realize that all summer when I thought I was busy, I really wasn't at all.  Now I know what busy is.  I'm SO glad I'm only taking 9 credit hours this semester, because my practicum course is really time consuming.  It's kind of all-consuming.  I have started counseling clients at the CTC (Counseling Training Center) at ASU.  BTW, if anyone out there needs counseling, but can't afford it, or doesn't have insurance coverage, the CTC is open to the public, and it is really cheap because the counseling is done by grad students in training.  We are really well supervised, though.  The cost to non-students is $80 for a whole semester of once a week counseling sessions (about 13 sessions).  Anyway, so right now I have two clients that I see once a week.  I can have up to four clients, but I'm kind of glad that I am starting out with a light load.  The experience of counseling has been...well...a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.  I thought I'd feel more comfortable and at-ease with the whole process and experience.  But now I realize that I'm brand-new at this, so of course it's going to be challenging and scary.   

The good thing about this experience being more stressful than I anticipated is that I decided to go to counseling myself to help me to work through my anxiety, and I really, really love it.  It is so helpful to verbalize all the thoughts that are running through my head, but I never have the time to sit down and really think about.  It also helps a lot to have an outside perspective on what is going on in my life.  And, I realized for the first time that I have struggled with anxiety all my life.  For me, anxiety often results in stomach problems.  Throughout the years, I've had "stomach problems" (anxiety), and I went to counseling several years ago for a specific issue (which I just now realized was a manifestation of my anxiety).  I remember in High School, my pediatrician told me that I stress and worry too much, and it is causing my stomach aches (again, anxiety).  And I have always, always worried too much.  And the thing about this realization (that I've always struggled with anxiety), is that now I look back and feel frustrated that I haven't been to counseling more often to help me deal with it.  Why did I wait until I felt really, really stressed and uncomfortable before I decided to get help?  Help is available.  It's not a very difficult process--in fact, it's an enlightening, great process.  But change is scary.  Fear of the unknown (what will counseling be like?) can be overwhelming.  And, I like to think that I can handle any problem just fine on my own.  I have my own coping mechanisms (going running, talking to Chuck, hanging out with my friends), and they work pretty well most of the time.  But like I said, now I am feeling so hopeful, and understanding myself and my anxiety so much better, that I just want to kick myself for not going to counseling sooner.  Counseling is great.  Going to counseling is great.  Being a counselor is hard for me right now, but I know it's going to get easier.  And I know that even though it is hard, it is going to be worth it.  Because I'll be able to help people feel the relief and insight that I am gaining with my counselor right now.  So overall, what I'm saying is that I love counseling, and I think at some point, I'm going to love being a counselor.  I'm just not quite there yet.  :)

Carson's Birthday

Carson turned 11 on August 26.  That morning, we stopped by Krispy Kreme to get him 3 dozen donuts for his homeroom class.  What better way to start your day?  Here he is after school with his huge tres leches cake! 

Carson has been wanting an iPod touch for MONTHS now.  He has been begging and plotting and scheming to get one.  We decided that we would get him one for his birthday if he paid for half of it.  Three reasons why: #1 a $200 birthday gift is outrageous for an 11 year old.  #2 he already had a perfectly good iPod courtesy of his Aunt Dina a couple of Christmases ago, and #3 we knew that if he paid for half of it, it would mean more to him, and he'd take better care of it.  So Carson asked for just cash from all family members, and he didn't have a lot of gifts to open, but he did receive the one gift that he really, really wanted: his iPod touch. 

We also bought him a case for his new iPod, and a box full of scouting stuff now that he's a Boy Scout (a scout shirt, book, badges, etc.)  Sewing all those badges on takes forever.  That is one thing I don't love about scouting! 

My three sons.  I love this picture!!  Charlie and Cade were very helpful counting and handling all of Carson's cash that arrived in his birthday cards.  :)

It's our birthday tradition that the birthday kid gets to choose where they want Mom and Dad to take them to dinner, and the other kids have to stay home while we spend some quality time with the birthday kid.  To make that a little less of a bummer for the other 3, we got some pizza for their dinner.  It's not Carrabba's, but it's not cold cereal either.  :)  Carson LOVES Carrabba's pollo rosa maria, so that's what we got!  After fried zucchini, bread, salad, pollo rosa maria, and ice cream praline, Carson was still determined to go to Bahama Buck's.  He didn't finish much of his shaved ice that night, but he put the rest in the freezer for the next day.  :)

For Carson's birthday party that Saturday, he invited a few friends to go bowling.  At AMF (Gilbert/Southern) they have a package that is 2 hours of bowling and all-you-can eat pizza for $15 per kid.  So that's what we did.  The boys ate tons of pizza, bowled 2 1/2 games, ate cake, and watched Carson open gifts.  They had lots of fun. 

Carson and his friends from the Academy: Jacob, Connor, Thomas, and Blake

The birthday boy and his mom.  

Carson did get to open a few more gifts at his party from his friends. 

Here's the final score of the first game:  a three-way tie!  The boys got better at bowling as they went along--it took about a game for them to really get the hang of bowling without bumpers, but they did great!  It was a fun party and I think Carson had a good 11th birthday!

Carson's Crossover Ceremony

Since Carson is turning 11, he gets to crossover the bridge from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts.  He participated in the ceremony at his last Pack Meeting (which was a water fun night--that's why he's in his swimsuit and not in uniform). 

Carson's friend, Hunter, was there to welcome him into 11-year-old scouts. 

Proud parents!

These BFF's were on the scene to play at Pack Meeting and to watch Carson's crossover ceremony.  Cheyanna and Savannah are such cute friends. 

Carson was a great Cub Scout, and I know he'll be a good Boy Scout as well.  2 down, 1 to go!

Crazy Hair Day

Here are Cade and Cheyanna showing off their crazy hair for spirit week at school. 

Our Stay-Cation

We got to take a fun little stay-cation a couple of weekends ago when my brother-in-law had a time share available in Scottsdale that wasn't going to get used.  We had such a fun time getting away for the weekend without having to go very far. 

  They had tons of fun activities for us to do, and I think we did them all!  We played mini-golf, croquet, and raquetball.

The three-bedroom suite we stayed in had plenty of room for the six of us.

We went swimming, worked out in the fitness center, played board games, and watched movies. 

The resort that we stayed at happened to be really close to one of our favorite resaraunts: Yardhouse.  So of course we had to go there.  The surf & turf burger was calling my name--a hamburger topped with lobster, asparagus, and bernaise sauce--sooooo yummy!  It was great family time, and we had so much fun together that weekend.