I am hoping that before I finish this post, the vet will call with the results of the second blood test for Pepper. As of right now, the plan is: this is the 8th day since she has last eaten. We cannot perform a liver biopsy because the liver is needed to filter out the anesthesia and as her little liver is on the fritz, she might not wake up. The underlying cause of the problems are still unknown, but we are treating the symptoms. If her ALT level has decreased by at least half (down from 1900 to 950 or below) we will discuss bringing her home today. If it has not, she will stay in the hospital for the weekend.
No news on Aunt Darla as of now.
Just got off the phone with the vet (glorious part of writing a blog post is that it happens on your own timetable). Pepper took a couple of bites of turkey hot dog this morning and her mood is greatly improved. She still turns her nose up at most food, but her liver values have improved a good deal. Not quite enough to bring her home yet, but by Monday hopefully she will be all to the groovy. Hurrah!
Okay, moving on from the dog. The kids at school.
Emerald is doing just fantastically. When there is a change in the routine, like during Rylan's birthday "party", she can have a bit of a meltdown; a few minutes by herself in the hallway always calms her down and gets her to feeling better. To motivate positive behavior, we have started getting her a new little charm (less than $1 each) for her charm bracelet for every entire week that she gets all blue bears--no disciplinary problems at school. If she does have to move her bear, which has never gone above yellow bear (a note home and a short timeout during recess), then she and Daddy and I have a talk about why it wasn't okay for her to do that and she is grounded from technology like her DS for the afternoon.
Tuesdays I volunteer to help pre-k and the two kindergarten classes with lunchtime and recess--it just gives the parents a chance to see the kids during the day, get to know their classmates, and help out the teachers with some 30 odd kids. It is really sweet getting to see Emerald interacting with her peers, and they are some sweet, darling little children in her class.
Little rundown of some of the kids I have gotten to know: Keelyn is the artistic redhead that is Emerald's center partner; they paint pictures for each other, and she loves to pet Benjamin when I bring him with me. Caleb is the "bad boy" (he is actually very sweet, though he does have some behavioral problems) that gets along with Emerald like oil and water, but they can't seem to stay away from each other--he makes her feel better when other kids are not playing nicely, and she considers him her "best boy friend". Faith is Emerald's best friend. She is absolutely precious, with long dark hair and a big grin on her face every time I see her. She is a perfect match for Emerald personality-wise--kind-hearted and sweet with a bit of a dramatic, spirited flair. Every time she sees me, she gives me a big hug.
Lillie is a shy, timid little mouse that has been coming more and more out of her shell; Natalie is the petite blonde you can see being head cheerleader one day, but is sneaky and forever in trouble; Justice is the child that is having separation anxiety from his mommy and appreciates lots of hugs and reassurance whenever I am around. Rylan is the teeniest little girl you can imagine with black hair down to her bottom and big, soulful eyes; she has some hearing difficulty and wears hearing aids, and she is the youngest girl in the class--just turned four this month. Taylor is the tomboy that I can see becoming a doctor because she is concerned and compassionate but absolutely fearless. Andrew is the crazy cute brunette with the dimple; for those it is meaningful to, he reminds me of Joseph Forrest from Argyle (I keep directing Emerald to him, but she finds Caleb much more exciting!).
There are a few kids that I know passingly but haven't really spent as much time with: Reed, Garryt (who my only reference point for is that he refused to let Emerald play basketball with the boys and made her cry), Ashlyn, and Megan. The others will make big impressions by wanting you to push them the entirety of recess or carry them everywhere or want to tell me all about their homes and families; those others tend to be more independent and less interested in the stranger taking their trash at lunchtime.
The upside is that I am making friends as well. Carolyn (Taylor's grandmother) volunteers with me on Tuesdays; she is this spunky California girl whose daughter is getting her masters in child psychology, emphasis in autism while she works at the Burkhart Center. Hope is Faith's mom; Christy is Lillie's. Justice's mom talks to me every morning and Gabriel gives her hugs every time he sees her which is simultaneously baffling and awesome. It feels good to feel like I am finding my niche, becoming part of the community.
Yikes!! Enough about Emerald and her class all ready! I could go on for days. End story: our little princess is doing fabulous, having inherited the social butterfly trait from her Glo and her quick learning and enthusiasm for academia from...well, take your pick--we are all a bunch of nerds here. (No offense if you consider yourself cool. I am sure you are. What's not cool about a pocket protector?)
Moving on: Gabriel!
Gabriel is making some very exciting progress. First, his reports from school are improving significantly; they have become better and better ever since Ms. Reynolds returned from maternity leave. She is a joyful, energetic sweetheart of a woman and Gaby responds so well to her. There are still some issues arising--though he is now unable to kick off his shoes ever since we invested in the hightop converse shoes, he gets too excited and accidentally (but painfully) bites his aides and when he is frustrated, he is known to throw things, pinch, or pull hair. He bit one of his aides right on the boob last week and I have been racking my brain for the appropriate "I'm sorry my son bit your tit" kind of gift. (I assume a gift card from hooters would be in bad taste). We are working on him respecting people's personal areas and not getting aggressive, but in a weird way these are also considered improvements--though it is a negative form, it is an attempt at communication and trying to tell us how he is feeling and what he is thinking. All we have to do now is teach him the proper ways to express those thoughts, and we are groovy.
The second good news is that he is definitely showing signs of trying to communicate more. He will sign "more" or "please", "fish", "food", "drink", or "on". He hugs to say hi and blows kisses when it is time to leave, and has attempted (successfully, though not consistently, in most cases) verbal exchange--going back and forth with saying "okay" with me, saying "hi" when he gets off the bus, calling for "mama" or "dada", and labeling himself "gaga". Speech and OT are going so well, with him greeting Erin and Emily enthusiastically at the door and staying on task for most if not all the time.
With Emily (the speech therapist), they share snack first where he will sign "more fish" for more goldfish or "more cookie" for cookies; they put puzzles or Mr. Potato Head together using picture exchange and choices; then finally they sing "If You're Happy and You Know It". He cannot resist that song--even if he is pretending he is not paying attention, when it gets to stomp your feet or "hurray!" he can't stop himself from participating. Eye contact with Ms Emily is so great, and you can tell he really does just honestly like her. Which it would be hard not too--she is one of the most cheerful, positive people I have ever met in my life.
In OT with Ms. Erin, he practices picking things up with the pincher grasp, manipulating multiple items in his hand, pushing beans, paperclips, or fuffy balls into containers, fitting puzzle pieces in, crossing the mid-line of his body to accomplish tasks and use both hands productively, and buttoning and unbuttoning buttons. These are all tasks to improve his fine motor skills; we also discuss sensory issues--while he is not sensory defensive (freaking out if his hands get dirty, unable to stand the tag in his clothes, etc), he is incredibly sensory seeking (hand flapping, banging head on furniture, etc). To combat this, we try to give him a lot of sensory input, meaning spinning him, swinging him, deep pressure compressions, joint compressions, massages, running, jumping, pushing heavy objects, etc; we also give him exciting flavors in his food such as ginger, hot sauce/wing sauce, garlic, and lemon pepper as his overactive auditory sense seems to be drowning out his olfactory (scent) and gustatory (taste) senses. This just makes meal times more exciting for him.
The third and greatest of the news for Gabriel: It has been nearly a week and a half since he last played with his poo!!
This particular difficulty has been consuming all of my time and focus, causing a great deal of stress monitoring Gabriel every second, wearing special outfits, and cleaning and sanitizing (or if all else fails, throwing away) everything that he gets his fecal artistry on. It has caused considerable strain on both Michael and myself because he would do it as often as five times in one day, allowing me barely enough time to clean up the last mess before he would make a new one. With him being so demanding, I have had less time, energy, and patience left for Emerald and Benjamin. Michael would come home from work to find a wife on the edge of a breakdown, too sick to even contemplating making dinner, and have to take over cooking and cleaning and the children while I tried to rid my house of the awful smell and compose myself to face it all again the next day.
I know: super gross. That is an apt description of our lives these past few months.
Now that his communication is improving, Gabriel will now try his hardest to let us know that he needs to be changed. He will take my hand and place it on his backside, crawl into my or Michael's lap so that we are in a position to check him, dropping his pants in front of us, or set out a pull-up and wipes before leading me over there. When we can, we have him wear feetie pajamas backwards with the feet cut off so that it is difficult for him to take them off or get inside. I cannot tell you what a relief it has been to have that one less worry--for it to be okay for Gabe to go to his room and look at books while I change his brother or talk to Emerald about her day at school; to not have to worry every time I see a kid with a toy if it is clean. It has improved the harmony of our home a great deal.
Whoo, this is turning into quite the epic post. On to Benjamin!!
Ben and I have more or less quiet days. We do laundry, watch mommy's shows, and play together. He is still big on naps, which I am appreciating. On Wednesday so that he and I can get some socialization, I work in the nursery at our church during women's bible study. My first official week was last Wednesday; there were three of us workers in the room, which was good because we had 8 babies ranging from 4 months to 18 months. Benjamin of course was there--he was in some sort of competition with Kirby, a little boy who wanted to eat everything Ben was eating and who Ben couldn't stand seeing me hold. Two 7 month twin boys named Nash and Knox were set up in the baby swings and Benjamin liked to help me push them as they fell asleep. Cecily is a pretty 10 month old blonde baby that Benny likes to pet; Kinsley plays more or less by herself, but gets emotional occasionally. Eli had never been away from his mother before and he cried the entire time, refusing to calm down regardless of what we did. Eventually, he would just cling to our pants and shirts, begging to be picked up--to give us relief for the last 30 minutes, the director of the bible class came and walked him around. After that it was almost eerily quiet. The 4 month old was a sweet, smiley little girl that I honestly cannot remember the name of off the top of my head. She slept most of the time any way.
I think it is a perfect little outing for me and Ben every week.
Things are going well for Michael at work. He is having a good month selling, which should help when we get the vet bill. A cold front blew in three days ago, making it rainy and cooler, a big relief. With the stress of Pepper and Aunt Darla and everything, I have been suffering from a bad case of nerves--since Pep went into the hospital, I haven't eaten anything except cereal because it all smells too fragrant, and when I went to talk to Dr. Carruthers about Pepper, I started sobbing into the dog's fur, officially making all three of us uncomfortable. To combat this bout of the crazies, I have been praying, meditating, stretching and doing yoga, drinking herbal teas, listening to my favorite Ludovico Einaudi, and writing down my worries and putting them in a "God Box" so that I can give it over to God. Thus far, nothing has helped; I may need to go to the doctor and get medicine or a prescription for a massage (wonder if he will toss in a mani-pedi....for my health, of course).
I think I have probably said everything that you needed to know and a great deal that you didn't, so I am probably going to hop off right after saying this last thing: if you got pictures of Emerald and Benjamin and wondered why there was a suspicious lack of Gabriel....Gabriel finds getting his picture taken in a formal setting like that stressful and he does not sit still or listen, resulting in a frustrating, upsetting time for all parties involved. Since it was Emmie and Ben's birthdays, we went ahead and got theirs made; we also ordered some of Gaby's school pictures (though last years were an absolute disaster). Michael and I have plans of taking him by himself for his birthday, wearing him out first at the bouncy place in the mall first and stuffing him full of food, as well as setting up a game plan with the photographer in advance, so he will be unrushed, unstressed, and hopefully more agreeable.
Okay, so this took me like an hour and a half to write. I have to go and actually get things done now.
LOVE! Andie
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Pepper Potts
As many of you know, we have a family dog--her name is Pepper Ann Potts, and she is a 4 year old rat terrier. We got her from the pet store I worked for because a careless child had dropped her, breaking both bones in her forearm, and she couldn't handle the stress of waiting to be bought while healing.
She is a sweet-natured thing, timid but excitable and very friendly. Occasionally gets into the trash or chews up something she is not supposed to, but she is great.
After five days of refusing to eat anything--dog food, treats, baby food, hot dogs--and vomiting at night, we took her in to see the vet. The doctor said that Pepper was dehydrated, most likely from eating something she wasn't suppose to; we would give her 24 hours on fluids, antinausea medicine, antibiotics, and try to get her eating.
When I came back up to see her today, she still had not eaten (making it now 6 days since she has last had anything, though the IV is keeping her okay) and was pitiful, shaking. The vet and I agreed to do some blood work and keep her for another day, see if we can figure this out. The results of the blood test came back very quickly--Pepper's liver function numbers are all elevated. One, the most alarming, would be considered high at 100...it came back 1900. For reasons we can't explain, her tiny little liver is not working the way it is supposed to.
They are keeping her for for another 48 hours on fluids and medicine to improve her liver function, then will be retested Saturday to see if her numbers have improved at all.
Keep little Pepper in your prayers. I know she is just a dog, but she is my dog and 4 years old is too young for her to die. This hospital stay for her is going to be outside our budget, so Michael and I are stressing of how we will make it work. Just pray everything turns out okay.
Continuing with prayer requests (a bit of a deviation from my norm, I know): my father's sister, Darla, is in ICU. I don't really know the details, just that her daughter found her and it is pretty serious. Though we didn't get to see her much as we were growing up after Mom and Tim divorced, Aunt Huck (as Amber, Jarrod, and I called her) has always been special and loved by us. She is a very sweet, special lady.
More later...
--Andie
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Labor Day Weekend and This Weekly Newsletter
Staring down the barrel of a three-day-weekend with the kids has me a little on edge, but it is that time again--the Wearden Weekly News!
Gabriel's first day back at PPCD was Monday. As I have mentioned before, his teacher Ms. Reynold's is out this week for maternity leave (as is his speech therapist) which means that he is with a substitute and his two Teacher Assistants, Ms Dora and Ms. Martha. The reports coming in have not been overwhelmingly positive. He has been pulling hair and scratching people, taking off his shoes, throwing everything he lays his hands on, and is very emotional, crying and fighting. He does not sit on his own at all at this point. The class size has shrunken to five little boys including Gaby, as the other kids were integrated into regular school or pre-k or did not return to the program. One teacher and two TA's to five kids makes for a great classroom ratio, so Gabriel will get lots of individual attention; more students may join later on in the year though.
Emily (the speech therapist) is still out on maternity leave, so we have been seeing Amanda in her place; there were no appointments this week as we readjust to the school year. Erin, the OT, came out on Tuesday and Thursday and will continue to see him as long as our schedules permit. Very blessed news: we got approved for SSI for Gabriel, meaning we will have a little extra funds to use for sensory items, specialized diet, medical or dental bills, or whatever comes up regarding Gabe. I think it will be so helpful.
Benjamin is going through his fussy, clingy stage. You would think spending all day alone with Mommy would be enough, but he is more insecure than ever, insisting on being held and rocked and cuddled nearly constantly, and wanting to share every game or activity or toy with me. It is not a problem--I like that he is so attached, but it can be a bit trying when he is tugging on my pants leg while I am trying to walk around or clamboring into my lap when I am trying to do something (like write a blog post). His teeth have been bothering him more than usual lately as well, which means that he cries and spits up more. Getting to be quite the chunky money, around 25 pounds, and we are considering switching him to a front-facing car seat because our car lacks the anchor points that make rear facing carseats so safe, leaving the seat a tad more unstable that I would prefer it.
Emerald's 5th and Benjamin's 1st birthdays are coming, and a lot of my time and brainpower has been devoted to planning that. I want it to be special because it is a big birthday from them both; part of me feels guilty because they each deserve their own party, but as their birthdays are a mere week apart (Ben's is the 4th and Emmie's is the 11th) and they are so little, it doesn't make a ton of financial or scheduling sense to do them separately. For those of you who are interested, the party is Sunday, September 9th at Ken and Rhonda's house; we are going with a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme, and we are having pizza and cupcakes. I think it will be a lot of fun, I'm hoping the kids will enjoy it. As for what we are getting them for presents?? Heck if I know. I always leave these things until the last minute. I'm terrible.
Behavior at school for Emerald has improved this week. She still got a yellow bear on Wednesday and Thursday, but she understood what she did wrong, fessed up to Michael and me, and was very apologetic to us and to her teachers. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday she had no problems at all. If you are wondering: Wednesday she got into an argument with a kid that stole her place in line and kept pushing the issue when the teacher told her to drop it; Thursday, she clearly told Ms. Robins that she was not done playing on the computer yet and would not go back to her desk. A few minutes in the hall and she was right as rain again.
The issues we are seeing arising are caused by a general lack of schedule here at home. Oh, we do the best we can and have a general way our day progresses, but we have to allow for a certain amount of deviation because they are kids and because Gabe is Gabe, so sometimes we have to toss the schedule out to accommodate.
Michael sold very well at the dealership this month. He was one car away from his own personal goal, but he has been doing such a great job these last several months, which makes him stress and worry less, which makes for everyone being happy all the way around. He had a Tuesday meeting this past week, which meant that he had his day off as Monday. I volunteer to help with lunch and recess at Emerald's school on Tuesdays, but I had to go in on Monday. The kids are all so well behaved and ate surprisingly well, which impressed me. The other parent there commented that it was odd that none of the kids that bough their lunch went straight for their ice cream like we thought they would, but ate their hot dogs and chips and vegetables first. It blew me away that in just a week and a half, these teachers were able to get these unruly 4 and 5 year old's so whipped into shape!
At recess, a kindergarten-er named Sarah took me by the hand and led me all around to introduce me to everyone, which was so sweet. I thought Emerald would find me too distracting, but as soon as I told her I had to help the other kids as well and couldn't keep giving her kisses and hugs every two minutes, she settled down considerably. She is well-liked among her peers; it seems as though she plays with everyone in the class, or at the very least gets along with them. The first week was all about Caleb; the next week, she played more with Natalie and Keelyn. I guess she is going to find where she fits in the best!
Reading through the school handbook, I saw that getting a cheerleading uniform and going to games to cheer makes for a pee-wee cheerleader. Darling Ms. Holly from Rhonda's work had a spare uniform lying around from when her precious little girl was younger, and so generously lent it to us...so now I have a little cheerleader! Tell me that is not just perfect for our little social diva.
Gabriel is still having some issues at home. We are having trouble with him playing with his own poo. It baffles Michael and me because we find it so repugnant, it is hard to understand why he would find it enjoyable, but honestly we would not get the same experience as Gabriel does. Gabe has a hypoactive olfactory sense, which means that he doesn't smell as super well because his other senses are too loud and drowning that one out. His feces doesn't smell bad enough for him to turn him off from playing with it, and it feels funny to squish it.
Horrific, I know.
-shudders- Anyways, the way we are working around that is insistence that he wear shorts or pants at all times even to bed, he is not allowed to go unsupervised especially in the backrooms, and making him take lukewarm (which to the heat-loving Gabe is horrendous) showers to wash after he is caught. Finger painting with washable crayola paints is a good alternative, as is squishing Daddy's shaving cream in the shower or squeezing play dough.
I apologize for the off-putting topic; I debated whether or not to include it, but my desire to record our lives as accurately as possible overrides my sense of propriety in this case, and I couldn't leave off such a major struggle.
Teeth-grinding and chewing his collar have also been issues for us of late. Gaby will worry the front of his shirt until it is riddled with holes, meaning we are having to buy new clothes every couple of weeks to keep him from looking awful (another instance where SSI is coming in handy).
To mark issues and problems as well as notes, questions and progress, what works, what doesn't work, likes and dislikes, I have started keeping a detailed log of what the children are doing (specifically Gabe). This allows me to look back and see what we need to address with the therapists or doctors and helps us chuck out the useless habits and focus on the things that are benefiting us. Hopefully we will be able to narrow down some triggers for tantrums or meltdowns as well, giving us the opportunity to prevent them or contain them in the future.
Friday (yesterday) as I was taking Emerald to school, I stooped down to pick the corpulent, rotund son of mine and felt just wretched pain in my back. I made an appointment to see my doctor who gave me another shot of cortisone and gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, and pain killers for continued back spasms. Just a sign of getting older and hefting around too much weight from the combined (and considerable) girth of my three sweet children. I will have a check up next week to see how I am feeling, and if it hasn't improved at all then I will have to get an MRI done, which is yucky and I don't want to do.
Beth and David Peacock moved out of town to take jobs in Midland, a sad two hours away. As it is a three-day weekend for them as well, they came and took me out last night to Applebee's for drinks and to catch up. It was so great getting to see them again, and Sarah Barber showed up to which made me realize how much I miss hanging out with my friends. Poor Michael works endlessly and his friends are mostly moved away and hardly come back to Lubbock any more. We have been making some friends at church; I am going to be volunteering in Cradle Roll as a teacher's assistant starting a week from tomorrow (the 9th, day of the party, lol) and as child care during a Ladies Bible class. It feels great to be working again, even if it is infrequently, and getting involved in a community.
I think that is all that is on my list to talk about, unless you want to hear the rant about how terrible Thursday was (trust me, you don't--I can go on forever), I will say--until next time!
--Andie
Gabriel's first day back at PPCD was Monday. As I have mentioned before, his teacher Ms. Reynold's is out this week for maternity leave (as is his speech therapist) which means that he is with a substitute and his two Teacher Assistants, Ms Dora and Ms. Martha. The reports coming in have not been overwhelmingly positive. He has been pulling hair and scratching people, taking off his shoes, throwing everything he lays his hands on, and is very emotional, crying and fighting. He does not sit on his own at all at this point. The class size has shrunken to five little boys including Gaby, as the other kids were integrated into regular school or pre-k or did not return to the program. One teacher and two TA's to five kids makes for a great classroom ratio, so Gabriel will get lots of individual attention; more students may join later on in the year though.
Emily (the speech therapist) is still out on maternity leave, so we have been seeing Amanda in her place; there were no appointments this week as we readjust to the school year. Erin, the OT, came out on Tuesday and Thursday and will continue to see him as long as our schedules permit. Very blessed news: we got approved for SSI for Gabriel, meaning we will have a little extra funds to use for sensory items, specialized diet, medical or dental bills, or whatever comes up regarding Gabe. I think it will be so helpful.
Benjamin is going through his fussy, clingy stage. You would think spending all day alone with Mommy would be enough, but he is more insecure than ever, insisting on being held and rocked and cuddled nearly constantly, and wanting to share every game or activity or toy with me. It is not a problem--I like that he is so attached, but it can be a bit trying when he is tugging on my pants leg while I am trying to walk around or clamboring into my lap when I am trying to do something (like write a blog post). His teeth have been bothering him more than usual lately as well, which means that he cries and spits up more. Getting to be quite the chunky money, around 25 pounds, and we are considering switching him to a front-facing car seat because our car lacks the anchor points that make rear facing carseats so safe, leaving the seat a tad more unstable that I would prefer it.
Emerald's 5th and Benjamin's 1st birthdays are coming, and a lot of my time and brainpower has been devoted to planning that. I want it to be special because it is a big birthday from them both; part of me feels guilty because they each deserve their own party, but as their birthdays are a mere week apart (Ben's is the 4th and Emmie's is the 11th) and they are so little, it doesn't make a ton of financial or scheduling sense to do them separately. For those of you who are interested, the party is Sunday, September 9th at Ken and Rhonda's house; we are going with a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme, and we are having pizza and cupcakes. I think it will be a lot of fun, I'm hoping the kids will enjoy it. As for what we are getting them for presents?? Heck if I know. I always leave these things until the last minute. I'm terrible.
Behavior at school for Emerald has improved this week. She still got a yellow bear on Wednesday and Thursday, but she understood what she did wrong, fessed up to Michael and me, and was very apologetic to us and to her teachers. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday she had no problems at all. If you are wondering: Wednesday she got into an argument with a kid that stole her place in line and kept pushing the issue when the teacher told her to drop it; Thursday, she clearly told Ms. Robins that she was not done playing on the computer yet and would not go back to her desk. A few minutes in the hall and she was right as rain again.
The issues we are seeing arising are caused by a general lack of schedule here at home. Oh, we do the best we can and have a general way our day progresses, but we have to allow for a certain amount of deviation because they are kids and because Gabe is Gabe, so sometimes we have to toss the schedule out to accommodate.
Michael sold very well at the dealership this month. He was one car away from his own personal goal, but he has been doing such a great job these last several months, which makes him stress and worry less, which makes for everyone being happy all the way around. He had a Tuesday meeting this past week, which meant that he had his day off as Monday. I volunteer to help with lunch and recess at Emerald's school on Tuesdays, but I had to go in on Monday. The kids are all so well behaved and ate surprisingly well, which impressed me. The other parent there commented that it was odd that none of the kids that bough their lunch went straight for their ice cream like we thought they would, but ate their hot dogs and chips and vegetables first. It blew me away that in just a week and a half, these teachers were able to get these unruly 4 and 5 year old's so whipped into shape!
At recess, a kindergarten-er named Sarah took me by the hand and led me all around to introduce me to everyone, which was so sweet. I thought Emerald would find me too distracting, but as soon as I told her I had to help the other kids as well and couldn't keep giving her kisses and hugs every two minutes, she settled down considerably. She is well-liked among her peers; it seems as though she plays with everyone in the class, or at the very least gets along with them. The first week was all about Caleb; the next week, she played more with Natalie and Keelyn. I guess she is going to find where she fits in the best!
Reading through the school handbook, I saw that getting a cheerleading uniform and going to games to cheer makes for a pee-wee cheerleader. Darling Ms. Holly from Rhonda's work had a spare uniform lying around from when her precious little girl was younger, and so generously lent it to us...so now I have a little cheerleader! Tell me that is not just perfect for our little social diva.
Gabriel is still having some issues at home. We are having trouble with him playing with his own poo. It baffles Michael and me because we find it so repugnant, it is hard to understand why he would find it enjoyable, but honestly we would not get the same experience as Gabriel does. Gabe has a hypoactive olfactory sense, which means that he doesn't smell as super well because his other senses are too loud and drowning that one out. His feces doesn't smell bad enough for him to turn him off from playing with it, and it feels funny to squish it.
Horrific, I know.
-shudders- Anyways, the way we are working around that is insistence that he wear shorts or pants at all times even to bed, he is not allowed to go unsupervised especially in the backrooms, and making him take lukewarm (which to the heat-loving Gabe is horrendous) showers to wash after he is caught. Finger painting with washable crayola paints is a good alternative, as is squishing Daddy's shaving cream in the shower or squeezing play dough.
I apologize for the off-putting topic; I debated whether or not to include it, but my desire to record our lives as accurately as possible overrides my sense of propriety in this case, and I couldn't leave off such a major struggle.
Teeth-grinding and chewing his collar have also been issues for us of late. Gaby will worry the front of his shirt until it is riddled with holes, meaning we are having to buy new clothes every couple of weeks to keep him from looking awful (another instance where SSI is coming in handy).
To mark issues and problems as well as notes, questions and progress, what works, what doesn't work, likes and dislikes, I have started keeping a detailed log of what the children are doing (specifically Gabe). This allows me to look back and see what we need to address with the therapists or doctors and helps us chuck out the useless habits and focus on the things that are benefiting us. Hopefully we will be able to narrow down some triggers for tantrums or meltdowns as well, giving us the opportunity to prevent them or contain them in the future.
Friday (yesterday) as I was taking Emerald to school, I stooped down to pick the corpulent, rotund son of mine and felt just wretched pain in my back. I made an appointment to see my doctor who gave me another shot of cortisone and gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, and pain killers for continued back spasms. Just a sign of getting older and hefting around too much weight from the combined (and considerable) girth of my three sweet children. I will have a check up next week to see how I am feeling, and if it hasn't improved at all then I will have to get an MRI done, which is yucky and I don't want to do.
Beth and David Peacock moved out of town to take jobs in Midland, a sad two hours away. As it is a three-day weekend for them as well, they came and took me out last night to Applebee's for drinks and to catch up. It was so great getting to see them again, and Sarah Barber showed up to which made me realize how much I miss hanging out with my friends. Poor Michael works endlessly and his friends are mostly moved away and hardly come back to Lubbock any more. We have been making some friends at church; I am going to be volunteering in Cradle Roll as a teacher's assistant starting a week from tomorrow (the 9th, day of the party, lol) and as child care during a Ladies Bible class. It feels great to be working again, even if it is infrequently, and getting involved in a community.
I think that is all that is on my list to talk about, unless you want to hear the rant about how terrible Thursday was (trust me, you don't--I can go on forever), I will say--until next time!
--Andie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)