Summer fun

Hey there!! Long time, no see.

We've been having an eventful summer. The girls got out of school around the middle of June, and all 5 of us got on a plane out to California. The girls stayed with our in-laws, and Jeff and I had our 1st vacation with no kids in almost 6 years. We went to Vegas...it was awesome. So much fun. We were able to see Ka' and Penn & Teller. We can't wait to go back.

The girls had a fabulous time with Jeff's parents. Their cousin Ariel was there, too, for the majority of the time, so they had a bunch of girly fun. Played dress-up, got in the spa, played with dolls and Barbies, and generally ran amok for 4 days straight. Needless to say, my worry that they would miss us while we were gone (as this was the longest we'd ever been away from them) were unfounded. I doubt they noticed we weren't there. In fact, I think we got a passing "Hi mom, hi dad!" after we came in the door. They were too busy.

Emma got her ears pierced with Auntie M & Aunt Kammie. I'd been asking her for 3 years if she wanted to get them done, but she kept telling me no thanks, because she knew it would hurt. Ok fine. But, as soon as mom's gone, and her aunts suggest it, SURE! LOL

As soon as we got back to Michigan, Emma started PEAK. It's a day camp that runs for 6 weeks during the summer. They have water days, do arts & crafts, go on field trips. Just the thing a kid like Emma needs. Not to mention the fact that most of the kids go to her school and she needs to make some new friends. Her best friend is switching schools next fall and making friends can be hard for her.

Sarah & Katie are doing well, having fun running around like banshees at home. Katie's doing really well with the potty training. Sarah we're still working on. Hoping to have her almost 100% trained before school starts. They're getting along pretty well, with only a few screaming matches a day. Otherwise they're like peas in a pod, best friends, partners in crime, the whole thing.

Jeff is doing well. Traveling for work. He just got back from Ithaca, NY. He & a co-worker did a presentation @ a conference at Cornell for a software product they use. I got a nifty Ivy League school sweatshirt. Yeah, you're jealous.

We also went to visit our friends in Tennessee for the 4th. Fun drive, all 14 hours of it. But it's worth it because they're our oldest friends, and our kids actually get along pretty well. We're the "Brady Bunch": they have 3 boys, we have 3 girls. The logistics are going to start getting a wee bit uncomfortable, as our two oldest are only 2 days apart, and they call each other their "boyfriend/girlfriend" when they're apart. Ahem They're 9 1/2. Oh boy, not looking forward to the teenage years.

This coming semester is Jeff's last. It's going to be hell, not looking forward to it, but then it'll be done and he'll have a degree that he's been working towards for 5 1/2 years. I'm so very very proud of him. Between going to school and working full-time, not to mention getting a promotion in between there and having to travel constantly for work. he's done extremely well. He'll be graduating with honors, which is hard enough for some people to accomplish without all the responsibilities that he has.

That's pretty much the rundown of what's been going on with us. Not a whole lot of excitement, but then again, I'm not sure I want a ton of excitement.

2 Updates in a row!

Today was Sarah's Kindergarden Transition IEP. It went really well. It was at Vowles, since that's where she'll be going next year, so we had her preschool team meeting up with her elementary school team. Her PT will stay the same, since she services both the school system and the Gratiot-Isabella RESD. Her Special Ed. teacher was there, as well.

First, we went through all of Sarah's strengths, and how she was doing on her goals since we last met. We only met 6 months ago, but she's made a lot of progress since then, which I was really excited to hear. Then each of the therapists went over their goals for her for the next year. They all sound really good to me, nothing too far fetched, but not too easy either. She'll be getting a lot of extra OT, since her Special Ed. teacher focuses a lot of fine motor. She'll be getting 20-30 minutes of ST, 4-6x a month. As for PT, I think it was around 30 minutes, 2x a week. But, she'll also be having 2 recesses a day, not to mention P.E., which she'll probably have with her special ed class, as she's still really small. It was suggested that I bring her to the playground at the school sometime during the summer to allow her to get used to it, as it's a bit bigger and not quite as contained as the one @ her current school.

Speaking of containment, I also warned everyone about her tendency to run off. That's still my biggest concern with her, as she's ninja-like in her stealthness. She almost seems to wait until you're NOT looking and then go the opposite direction. I told them we're still planning on getting some sort of device to keep track of her. I'm hoping to have that in place by the time school starts.

I also told them that she's not potty trained yet, but I hope to have her well on her way by the time school starts. Katie's already doing really well, and I know that Sarah won't want to let her be better at something. :D

All in all, it was a really good meeting. I'm fortunate that her team really gets Sarah and I haven't had to fight for much in regards to therapies or accommodations. We also put transportation on the IEP, even though I'm not 100% sure she'll be riding the bus. But, it's easier to put it on there and not have to use it rather than having to schedule a meeting to put it on there later. The OT seemed really excited to work with Sarah, and the PT already knows her, but the ST seemed a little daunted by the fact that she's so small and is a runner, haha. I know Sarah will have them all wrapped around her little finger by the end of the first week of school.

Update from our neck of the woods

We've had quite the goings-on around here lately, so here's a wrap-up.

I flew to San Diego a couple weeks ago to attend my sister's college graduation. It was the 1st time in almost 2 years that Jeff's been alone with the kids for longer than 12 hours. He did fabulous, which makes me think I should leave him alone more often. :D

I had a really nice time seeing a lot of my dad's family. I hadn't seen any of my younger siblings in 2 years, and I hadn't seen my dad or step-mom since my mom's funeral. I was able to spend some time at the beach, which I miss, terribly. Did a little shopping and generally had a wonderful time.

Both Jeff & I finished the spring semester about a week before that, which we were both happy about. I ended up getting A's in all 3 of my classes, finishing my math class with an 102% on my final exam. I was quite pleased with myself. Jeff also got straight A's, solidifying the fact that he'll be graduating in December with honors! Woo hoo!!

The girls are all doing great. After having some struggles making friends in the beginning of the year, Emma's made a really good friend in a girl named Paige. She's in 4th grade, which means she'll be leaving this school at the end of the year (the schools here are K-4, and then 5-6) but I know she'll keep in touch, and I'm sure we'll be having sleepovers & playdates all summer.

Sarah is having a blast in school, with the last 2 weeks of preschool wrapping up. She's headed to K next year, which I know she'll do great in. We've have K Round-Up, and last night we went to a Parent meeting at the school, where we toured all the classrooms. She didn't want to leave! We have her transition IEP tomorrow morning, where everything for her placement will get finalized. I'm pretty sure her therapy times won't change much, and I think the agreement was that her and another little boy will share an aid, who will travel to the different classrooms with them.

Katie is doing great! Since I got back from California, we've been working on the potty training. She's had a few mishaps, but overall she's caught on really well! I decided that I couldn't handle training 2 kids at once, and Katie, although she was really hesitant to use the potty chair a month ago, started initiating it on her own, so I decided to start with Katie. I know once Katie has it down pat, that Sarah will want to emulate her and she'll be along shortly. :D Katie's biggest hurdle was she really liked the design on her pull-ups and didn't want to wear anything else. But, I convinced her with some new Minnie Mouse undies. Now, she only wears the pull-ups at nap and bedtime. I can't yet have my "ritualistic burning of the changing table pad" yet, but it's close! Unfortunately, I don't think Sarah will be able to go to the speech camp this summer (funding is non-existent) so we'll have the whole summer to work on it! I'd love to send both girls to school in the fall completely pull-up free.

Katie is still my little talker. The things that come out of her mouth have me in stitches at times. Another blogger I follow said that kids at this age are so literal. I can definitely see it with Katie. She picked up Sarah's pants from the floor of the bathroom and asked,"What's this mom?". I told her,"Those are Sarah's jeans." She said,"No, it's a flower." Apparently she had been talking about the design on her jeans, not the jeans themselves.

As for us, Jeff and I are looking forward to traveling to CA in 2 weeks to visit his family. The girls will get some quality time with Nana & Papa, and Jeff & I will be taking a well-deserved vacation to Vegas for 4 days. This will be the 1st trip without kids in almost 6 years. I can hardly wait. But first we have to get through the last couple weeks of school, and Jeff has his final ACSA exam to take. Oh, and then there's the little thing of actually flying with 3 kids cross country, which is always fun. But, they're older now, and hopefully will be a little easier. And please let there be NO exploding diapers @ 35,000 feet.

Party Time

Yesterday was Sarah's birthday party at McDonald's. Yeah I know, not the most original, but with it being April here, the weather is unstable, so an outdoor party wasn't an option. Plus, Jeff has ix-nayed home parties for awhile. It's just too stressful. So, McDonald's it was. Which was fine. They provided the food, cake & ice cream, along with a huge inside play area for the kids to run amuck on. Sarah had 2 friends that came from her preschool class, and we had 2 of Emma's friends, and her friend's little brother. Everyone seemed to have a good time. In fact, we had to postpone opening up presents until we got home due to the fact that we couldn't pry Sarah off the play structure. This is why I don't go to this place without backup. There have been instances where I'm standing on the outside, yelling at the girls to come out, knowing I can't fit myself in there to get them. Not a fun experience. Talk about feeling like a crappy parent.

But, I digress. The kids all had fun, and that was the point. Emma got invited to her friend's house for a few hours, and then we invited that friend over to spend the night. This particular friend has ADHD. I also know, via her grandmother, that this girl doesn't take her meds on the weekends. I will the first to admit that I don't know much about ADD or ADHD. That being said, I was unprepared for the onslaught of energy that this little girl has. She's a very sweet girl, but very determined when she puts her mind to something. Like incessantly chasing our cat. LOL But, she's Emma's friend, and for that I'm grateful. This is first real girl friend Emma's had. They have fun together, and that's all that matters. She and Emma were up until 11pm last night, and then up way too early this morning. I guess I should get used to that, since this will most likely not be the only time this friend stays over. The only sad part is this friend is in 4th grade, and that means she won't be going to this school next year (the elementary schools are separated into four K-4 schools, & two 5-6 schools). But, I'm hoping that they'll be able to stay friends. Emma needs to have some consistency.

I've been pondering some things, and I'm conflicted as to what to think of them. I find it interesting that I'm majoring in Special Education, and suddenly we have multiple children interacting in our lives that would fall in that category. First, Sarah, obviously. And Emma, too, since she has an IEP for her speech. Then, Emma's friend's little brother was recently diagnosed with Autism. And now Emma's other friend, with ADHD. I'm vacillating between thinking it's just a numbers game, where more kids are being labeled with something (even though I hate labels) so it's inevitable that we'd come across more kids with special needs, and thinking it is some sort of cosmic preparation for the job that I'll have once I graduate. Either way, I'm grateful for the opportunity to get experience with multiple children with multiple needs. That was my biggest fear with Sarah starting K next year: that she wouldn't have teachers who would understand her needs. And honestly, that's MY biggest fear about becoming a teacher. I'm worried that I won't be able to fulfill the needs of all my future students. I know I won't always have the right answer or know exactly what to do, but I don't want to be blindsided with a child and not having any idea how to help them. So, I'm thankful for the chance to get experience in whatever way I can.

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Sarah!

My dearest Sarah,
It’s hard for me to believe that you are already five years old. Time moves too quickly these days, and I feel like I’m missing so much.
From the moment you were born, I knew you were unique. It’s hard for me to remember those days, as, like most of us on this journey, I was scared in the beginning. You started surprising us from birth. We didn’t know about your “little something extra” beforehand, but I look back and am thankful, because it allowed your daddy & I to get to know you, as the tiny (well, maybe not, as you were almost 9 lbs!) human being you were. We had 10 days of just enjoying you, and weren’t preoccupied with therapies, doctors, and milestones. And when we were told, we didn’t mourn long. Your daddy, being the strong person he is, helped us all to realize that this didn’t change who you were, or what you meant to us. As if to prove the point that you weren’t about to let a diagnosis bring you down, you rolled over from tummy to back 4 days later, at exactly 14 days old. That was sooner than your big sister! You have never been content with the labels that society wants to put on you. You have always blazed your own path, while the rest of us fight through the bush to get to where you are, so we can join you on your journey, rather than force you to follow ours. Your path is beautiful, unassuming, and filled with all the wonders of the world.
It boggles my mind that you will be starting Kindergarden next fall. Little Sarah, who still wears size 3T clothes and is barely 36 inches tall, going to the big time!! I’m scared and proud, all at the same time. I can’t imagine you riding the big bus with your sister, carrying a backpack as big as you are, and sitting at a desk, with your feet dangling in the air. I know you will make friends, and I know you will shatter the preconceptions of anyone foolish enough to belittle your potential. You will wrap your teachers around your fingers and you will continue to learn and grow.
I know your little sister will miss you, as she does now when you go to school. She wants to be anywhere you are, as your best friend and partner in crime. Your big sister is one of your biggest cheerleaders and is always there to play a game of tag.
You have taught me so much in the last five years. I have learned to slow down and enjoy every milestone, especially when they are fought for with such tenacity. I’ve learned to realize that every word is precious, especially when those words have taken years to say. You’ve helped me sing when the mood strikes, dance with my whole heart, and love unconditionally. I could not imagine my life without you, my sweetheart girl. Thank you for allowing me to your mom.

Love,
Mommy

This has been a week

You know, there are times during your life when you wonder if the universe isn't playing some cosmic, karmic joke on you. This would be one of those times for me.

For those that follow me on Twitter or Facebook, probably already know about this, but for those that don't, Sarah got seriously injured this week. I like the way Jeff put it: Sarah picked a fight with a 15 lb. TV and lost. She & Katie had a TV in their room that was up on a TV stand on the wall. It was pretty secure. Apparently not secure enough for Sarah. She, Emma & Katie were playing in their room earlier this week while I was puttering around doing housework. All of a sudden, I hear this huge crash from their room. I rushed in there, to find the TV on the floor (it had been up about 6 feet) and Sarah just starting to realize she'd been hurt and screaming. I saw that she had blood on her mouth, so I rushed her into the bathroom to rinse out her mouth. The blood didn't stop. I saw that she had a huge laceration on her lip that would need stitches. I grabbed a washcloth and put some pressure on it, while yelling at Emma to get my phone. I looked into her mouth while I was calling Jeff, and I noticed that one of her bottom teeth was missing.

I got ahold of Jeff and told him what happened, and he said he'd meet us at the ER. But, it took me a bit to get the girls in the car, with Emma & Katie at least having shoes, so he actually just met us at home and rode with us, holding the washcloth to Sarah's mouth the whole way. By this time, Sarah was completely calm, just a bit perturbed at the fact that she had a piece of cloth pressed on her face.

I rushed her in, and they got us into a room fairly quickly, but then the waiting started. The ER wasn't that busy, but apparently everyone was taking their sweet time. We didn't really think about it until later, but the fact that Sarah pulled a TV onto her face and was still bleeding 25 minutes later, didn't seem to phase anyone that maybe she needed some pain meds or perhaps they should hurry their butts up. I think that was my fault though, I didn't push, because I know Sarah has a high pain tolerance, and while she might not have been complaining, I KNOW she was in some sort of pain. While we were waiting for someone to make a decision, Jeff pointed out to me that the top part of her mouth was also injured. I looked and saw that she was missing one of her top front teeth, and that one of the other ones was loose. I don't know why this revelation hit closer to home, but I immediately started crying. I just kept thinking, this kid has enough problems, and is most likely going to Kindergarden next year, and will be missing at least 3 teeth, possibly more. Maybe I should paint a sign that says "MAKE FUN OF ME" and send her to school with it. I know that's petty, and we've been fortunate that we haven't had any instances of prejudice when it comes to Sarah, but I know that window of innocence is slowly shrinking.

The doctor finally came in and said they wanted to do a cat scan to make sure she hadn't fractured any facial bones. I told them that they were probably going to have to sedate her for that, since I knew she wouldn't lay still. The on-call doc said that she was fairly certain everything would be fine. Because there was a Dora sticker on the outside of the machine and kids usually focused on that and didn't mind the loud noises and being strapped down. Right. As soon as they tried to move her bed to take her to the x-ray room, she started freaking out. I had to carry her, and once we got in the room, she become "Koala Sarah" and was crawling up my head. We attempted to hold her down and even used the large velcro straps they have, but the radiologist couldn't get a decent picture without her moving. So, back to the ER room we went, and waited some more. Finally, someone else came in with the radiologist and said that they were going to attempt the cat scan again, without sedation, but with an extra set of hands. I asked why they didn't just sedate her and they said something to the effect of that they didn't want to have to sedate her more than once. That gave me the impression that they were anticipating doing some sort of procedure that required sedation later on. I was ok with that. We all went into the x-ray room again, and a nurse wrapped Sarah up like a burrito and between her, Jeff & I managed to somewhat hold her still. Poor baby was freaking out. The radiologist thought he was able to get some decent pictures, and so back we went to the room.

Thankfully, during this time, a co-worker of Jeff's had come and volunteered to watch Emma & Katie out in the waiting room. I will forever be grateful to Kevin for that. :D We also noticed that one of Emma's friends from school was in another room, so I went over to talk with her family. Turns out she had been vomiting and was showing signs of dehydration, so she was just in to get an IV of fluids. Emma went in after awhile to say hi and visit. After the debacle of the cat scan, Jeff volunteered to stay with Sarah, so I could take Katie home for awhile. Emma decided to stay and visit with her friend. Jeff said he'd call when they decided anything.

After about 2 hours, he called and said that they'd decided to just put a few stitches in her lip, and gave us a referral to an oral surgeon to see the following day. I couldn't believe that's all they were going to do for her. I came up right about the time they were putting in the stitches, which they only did a few, and said they were leaving the end open to allow it to drain. Shortly after we were discharged. We went home and, no joke, within 30 minutes, Sarah had pulled out the stitches. Of course. I called the ER and the nurse said that should be fine, it would just take the lip a little longer to heal.

She seemed to do fine that night, and we gave her some Tylenol to help her sleep. We went to the oral surgeon the next afternoon, and he took a quick x-ray of her top jaw, to make sure the top front tooth hadn't been jammed in there, because we couldn't find it. We found her bottom tooth that had been knocked clean out, but weren't able to find any other. He said there didn't seem to be anything jammed in her gums, which was good. He also said that, because her permanent teeth were so high up in her jaw, there didn't look like there was any damage to those either.

So now it's a waiting game. She seems to be doing ok; we have her on a soft food diet for a few days, but now she's able to eat almost everything. I asked the oral surgeon if the loose tooth would firm up or fall out, and he said the odds were pretty even for either. Her gums seem to be healing well and she's taking it all in stride. Needless to say, there is no more TV in their room.

After all that, you'd think that karma would have let us be for a bit. But no. Today we decided, since the weather wasn't rainy or snowy, that we'd take a drive over to Midland and hang out at the mall. About a month ago, we had gone to the Novi mall, and had a small emergency: Sarah ran off. She has a tendency to do this and if we don't deadbolt the sliding glass door, she will go out back. Not normally a problem, but our backyard isn't completely fenced in. So, there we were, having gotten to the mall not 20 minutes before, and the girls wanted to play in the little jungle gym they have. It's not huge, with only one entrance, and both Jeff & I were watching all the kids. Still, sneaky, silent, ninja Sarah, was able to get past us. I noticed within seconds that she wasn't there, but I went into the enclosure to make sure she wasn't hiding. An older gentleman noticed me and asked if I was missing a little girl. I said yes, and he said his wife had her, and she'd been running down the mall. So, I took off, but couldn't find her. I saw a woman pointing me down the mall, but I still couldn't see anyone with her. She said Sarah had gone into a shoe store. I ran in there and grabbed her, my heart racing, and slowly walked back to the play area. Jeff met me about halfway there, she'd gone about 10 stores down. We decided to leave immediately. We just couldn't believe that, even with both of us being very diligent, she could have slipped past us. She could get a job as a spy, she's that good. And quick, too.

So, now I will be looking into getting some sort of electronic monitoring device. Sarah has a problem with impulse control. She doesn't think about things before she does it. I'm hoping that she'll grow out of this, but I'm not betting that will happen before Jeff or I have a heart attack, or something bad happens. She has enough things happen as it is, we don't need to be tempting fate.

Toothless

Apparently this family loses teeth in groups.

A few weeks ago, I had noticed that Sarah had a loose front tooth. I kinda panicked as I thought she was too young to start loosing teeth. But, I had to remind myself that she'll be 5 in April, and she just looks younger than she is. Also, Emma lost her first tooth the month after she turned 5, so it wasn't terribly early. Based on how wiggly it was, I gave it less than a month before it was out.

So, last Thursday, when we're all home from school/work, I'm making dinner (or rather standing in the kitchen wishing desperately for inspiration to hit me in the face regarding what to make for dinner) and Sarah comes to me, and her mouth is bleeding a little. So, I look and it's her tooth; not out completely, but a lot more wiggly than it had been. I gave her a towel to chew on, to help it come out, as I couldn't pull it out myself. About 10 minutes later, she comes back to me, towel in hand, and no tooth in her mouth. I ask her where it was, and she said "Idunknow, mommy". Oy. So, I check the towel-no tooth. I check her mouth-no tooth. I had Emma look all over the living room-no tooth. So, Sarah lost her first tooth, and them promptly swallowed it. Given her high pain tolerance I probably could have pulled it and she would have been fine. So, needless to say I've been checking her diapers, but no tooth so far. Unfortunately, she diapers have recently returned to their prior "consistency" and I probably missed it. But, no fear, the tooth fairy was notified, and left Sarah $2.

Not to be outdone though, Emma had some loose teeth of her own. She actually had 3. She hasn't lost any teeth (naturally, although she had 1 pulled about 2 years ago) in over 2 years, so it was time.

Yesterday, being Valentine's Day, and 4/5 of us being sick, I didn't want to cook, but we couldn't go out. So, Jeff, being the wonderful husband he is, and seeing as how he was feeling more human than he had in days, volunteered to go pick up food from Lonestar Steakhouse. I hadn't known that they did take-out. I was giddy. Their rolls and honey butter are to die for. But, I digress. So, he and Emma went to pick up our food. They brought it home and we all sat at the table. The girls ate very nicely, and we were having our first sit down dinner in almost a week. Then, suddenly, Emma gasps, and pulls what I think is bread out of her mouth. She shows it to me, and I see it's one of her teeth. So, the tooth fairy came last night for her, too (even though she's already in on the "secret"). I'm expecting the other 2 loose teeth to fall out within a couple months at the very latest.

Family Update

Life has slowly been chugging along for us. We're back into the routine of school/work/kids etc. I'm now working 4 mornings a week, which was an adjustment, but I've found it actually makes things easier. I'm able to get home after picking up the kids from daycare at the latest by 1pm. I then feed them lunch and put them down for a nap (no guarantees that they'll actually sleep, though) and after that I'm able to be a lot more productive. The morning routine of getting all 5 of us fed, dressed, and out the door by 8:10am is actually a lot easier than I had envisioned. I only work 4 days a week, so I have all of Friday off.

Jeff is back in school, as well. He's teaching again this semester and taking his final class for his minor. It's Metalworking, which I thought sounded fun. Not so much after he told me he needed steel-toe boots, safety goggles, and pants that weren't easily flammable. Oy. He's also going to a few training sessions for Apple. He's preparing to take the ASCA Certification test soon, and I know he'll do fabulous!

Emma is doing wonderful. She's officially out of the Resource Room at school, and in the classroom full-time. She's still seeing the school Social Worker, but it's looking like the issues she was having in the 1st semester are slowly being resolved. We got her 2nd quarter report card last week, and she's doing great. She got a majority of 3's (her school grades from 1-4, 4 being the highest), a couple 2's, and a couple 4's. From the progress reports from her teacher, it looks like her being in the classroom full-time now is really being beneficial to her academically, as well as socially. She rarely comes home from school saying she's had a bad day. She's making great strides in reading and spelling, and is testing her skills by e-mailing with family.

Sarah is still as chipper as ever. She recently got new glasses, which are slightly different than her last few pairs. These don't have the cable temples, so they fit a little looser. I was worried that this might take some getting used to, and that she might start yanking them off frequently again. But, she adjusted to them nicely, and really notices when she's not wearing them. A for school, she's doing fantastic. She did a few things over Winter break that her teachers had been working with her on, so I sent a note in the first day back after the new year. Things like counting to 10, as well as identifying more shapes, and being on the road to being potty trained. There's a small possibility that we might go ahead and send her to Kindergarten next fall, but I'm still not sure about it. There are a few more people I want to talk to about possible placements for her, and I don't want to send her just because she's old enough. Legally, I can have her stay in preschool another year, but I'm not sure what's best for her yet.

Katie is going great. She and Sarah are still the best of friends, even though Katie keeps trying to be the boss. Too many times during the day I'll hear something to the effect of, "NO, Sawah, sit down!" Or "That's bad, Sawah!" Talk about a chip off the ol' block. This child is "Mini-me" and mimics everything I do...not always a good thing.

My birthday is next week, which is always interesting. I'll be 31. Jeff is going to another Apple training for most of the week, starting on Monday, so we're celebrating my birthday on Saturday. Yay! I get to sleep in! :)

Update

Well, after starving Sarah all morning in preparation for her being sedated, we get to the docs to find out they had no plans to sedate her. Ugh. So, the poor thing was famished for nothing. I was really worried about whether or not she would sit still for them to get decent pics, and I didn't want to have to go down to Lansing in order for them to IV sedate her. But, with Daddy's help, she did fantastic. They were able to get a good look at her PDA. The cardio said that although her PDA is at a weird angle, he's pretty sure that it's extremely tiny, which means it's shrunk since last check. Which is awesome. He also said that because he couldn't hear it with a stethoscope, that it's considered a "silent" PDA, which doesn't warrant any surgery. Woo Hoo!! He said that they would most likely have to make the hole larger in order to get in there during the heart cath, so we'll just check up on it again in a few years. Phew. I'm very glad that she doesn't have to go through surgery. :)

We then went out with Daddy for a celebratory Burger King lunch, lol. I also decided to be brave (translation: braving the freezing temps) and go get Sarah's new glasses. I had to chuckle at one of the light-up signs on the way home; you know, the ones that show the temp and time, etc. It said it was 77 degrees. I don't know if it was wishful thinking or if it was so cold the machinery has malfunctioned. Either way, it made me laugh.

Prayers for Sarah

Sarah has her annual cardiologist appt this morning. "Annual" really means it's been 2 years. She has a small PDA (Patent ductus arteriosus) that has been present since birth. But it's never caused her any problems, she's never been on meds for it. Sometimes they close on their own, which is why we didn't do anything about it 2 years ago. But, if it's still there, we will go ahead and get the catheterization done. It's not open heart, it's a short procedure where they go into a vein through the groin area and close the hole with a small mesh object. Since kids with DS sometimes have issues with being under general anesthesia, she'll probably stay overnight for observation. This wouldn't be so bad, but the only hospital who does this procedure is in Grand Rapids. So it's a bit of a drive.

Because this morning's procedure requires her being under oral sedation, she can't eat anything, which is pissing her off. I had to surreptitiously give Katie some breakfast so I didn't have 2 extremely ornery kids on my hands. But, Sarah is persistent, and tried to sneak some cold pizza from the fridge. I am however giving her some clear liquids, but it isn't helping.

While this PDA hasn't really affected her life, it might cause problems as she gets older if left open. So, some prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated this morning. :)

Shhh...

I'm not going to tell you that Sarah has gone potty in the big potty about 50% of the time the last 4 days. I'm not going to say that she's the one who's initiating this, and I'm not going to say how happy I am. You didn't hear this from me. :)

For the love of a dog

For Emma's 1st birthday, back in 2000, we bought her the "Blue's Clues Big Musical Movie" DVD. She. Loved. It. She watched it all the time. It became a staple on our long trips to see family in CA. Once she got a little older, it became less of a favorite, and usually was left, forgotten, in our DVD case in favor of the current flavor of Barbie movie (which I still haven't forgiven Mattel for). After Sarah was born, she had her own favorite movies, like Signing Time and Muppets and Veggietales. Blue's Clues came out every once in awhile, but it wasn't mesmerizing for her like it had been for Emma.
Well we officially have another Blue's Clues fanatic in the house. And she goes by the name of Katie. I kid you not, this is what I heard in my house this morning:

Katie (in the kitchen waiting for a drink, hears the opening strains of the Blue's Clues DVD in the living room): "Gasp" BLUES CLUES MOMMY, BLUES CLUES!!! ::squeal:: (as she's running pellmell into the living room, almost hitting the wall as she turns the corner) IT'S BLUES CLUES!!!! YAY!!!!!

Cue complete silence for the first 20 minutes of the DVD.

I call that Heaven.

I know most people wonder how much use they'll get out of the toys and games and movies they buy for their children. Eight years later, this DVD is still bringing joy to the children of the Wilson household. I'd call that money well spent.

21 Things about Sarah

I'm taking a cue from a few of the blogs that I read.

Sarah:
1. is 4 1/2.
2. has 2 sisters, one older, one younger.
3. was named after her 2 grandmas.
4. has worn glasses since she was 1 year old.
5. loses those glasses at least once a day.
6. loves the Doodlebops, Backyardigans, and Signing Time.
7. has platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, both of which she got from her father.
8. once ate a whole container of strawberries, by herself, in one sitting.
9. loves chips and salsa.
10. does not have the palmar crease on her hand, but has it on her foot.
11. has a bad habit of eating her hair.
12. loves to ride the bus to school.
13. gives the best hugs.
14. can fold herself in half.
15. is still in diapers (but we're working on it!)
16. calls soda "pop" even though we don't (talk about a child of her environment).
17. is the biggest Daddy's girl.
18. calls everyone by their appropriate names (Mommy, Daddy, Emma) except Katie. She calls her "baby".
19. LOVES music, anything musical.
20. is seriously stubborn.
21. has taught me more than I could ever have imagined.

Calm after the storm

Life has been a whirlwind the last month or so. Between school for 4/5 of us, work for Jeff & I, and general madness, it's been hard to keep up.

I've been completely remiss in my plan to blog every day for the month of October. There have been some days where I just didn't have a brain cell left to think about what to blog.

A few anecdotes from the last few weeks:

* we got the girls' costumes: Emma's a witch, Sarah's a pirate, and Katie's a cowgirl.
* Jeff signed up for his spring classes; he only has 2 more after that, and he's all set to graduate next December.
* Emma got through her first MEAP (Michigan Standardized Test) and I think they're now starting the LD evaluation
* we had an incident with the bus and Emma, I'm still following up with that, it'll be a later blog
* Emma seems to be doing very well in school; she's making great progress in reading
* Sarah continues to be the "little teacher" in class
* Katie is still doing wonderfully; she's loving daycare and doesn't cry every time we pull up to the house!
* I've been having an existential crisis over what to do with the rest of my life, education-wise

That pretty much sums up our lives for the last few weeks or so. We have some cool things coming up, including our annual get-together with our best friends from Tennessee. It's their turn to drive up here for Thanksgiving. Not to mention the election next week!! :) The girls all have the day off, which is NOT going to make it easy to go and vote. But, we'll make it work. Never too early to learn about civic duty. :)

Special Exposure Wednesday

When I took this picture, I thought it was going to be a fabulous pic of the 3 of them. Then I actually uploaded it to my computer and got a look at Sarah's face. LOL

Two down, two to go ('nother TMI post)

Poop samples, that is. I was able to scrape (literally, as they gave me 2 wooden popsicle sticks) enough out of a particularly nasty diaper yesterday to get 2 of the 4 vials I need. I'm hoping I can get the other 2 sometime this weekend, and maybe I'll be able to take Sarah to the hospital to get her blood drawn very early Monday morning before school. I want this all done and taken care of before we make the pilgrimage drive to NC the middle of next week. And then maybe, just maybe, I'll have some results by the time I get back. Wouldn't that be nice.

Gimme the poop (TMI post, not for the squeamish)

After procrastinating for way too long, I finally was able to get Sarah in to see the Pediatric Gastroenterologist (from hereto referred as the Pedi GI). This poor kid, in her entire 4 1/2 years of life, has probably had less than 10 solid BM's. I'm not joking. Ask anyone who has babysat her, and had to endure a poopy diaper, it's like liquid. It's practically the consistency of newborn poop. And it goes everywhere. Katie has days where hers are like that, too. But, she also has pretty normal poop, for a 2 year old.
Sarah's been tested for celiac, but her last test was over a year ago, and I knew she was due for one. I've tried limiting the amount of juice she gets, that didn't work. I contemplated putting her on a gluten free diet, just to test it out, but then thought that if she DID get tested for it, that would skew her results. A lot of different scientific names have been thrown my way by the medical people I know: C-diff, celiac, acidophilus, intestinal bacteria.
Needless to say, that trying to potty train a kid who has these types of BM's is not happening. And I want at least 1 kid out of diapers by the end of the year and at the rate we're going, it was looking like it was going to be Katie. Although I think Jeff and our bank account would throw me a party if I got both of them out of diapers by then. But, I'm not going to get ahead of myself.
So, the appointment yesterday wasn't groundbreaking, but at least it was something. He gave me 2 lab orders, one for a blood draw and 4 vials. For poop. And a wooden stick. Not kidding. I have to collect Sarah's poop and put it in 4 different containers. I've done this before, but at the time, she had rotovirus and her poop was the consistency of soggy green alfalfa. (I told you this was going to be TMI) So it was easier to scoop up with a wooden stick. How I'm supposed to do that with liquid, I guess I'll find out.
I'm hoping, praying, BEGGING that some answers will come out of this. This poor kid just wants to poop normally. Or at least she would if she knew any different, since this IS her normal right now.

An abundance of time

This is something I never seem to have, until today. Apparently after complaining all summer about how it was so hard to get anything done when all the kids were home, today, with 2 of the 3 girls home sick, is when I have updated this blog about 5 times. Not to mention actually getting some housework done, as well. Who'da thunk it?

So here I am again, with another amusing anecdote. This morning when I called Sarah's school to let them know that ugly green snot monster had overtaken her, I got into polite conversation with one of the Para's in her class. She told me all about how Sarah's speech had become very intelligible (relatively speaking) and seemed to have purpose. She's been making all sorts of word approximations, and responding appropriately to questions and actions (i.e. actually saying "Thank you" after being helped or given something). She's apparently become so adept at it that on Friday, when her new student Speech teacher came to meet her during class, Sarah decided that she just wasn't going to talk. She only used sign the ENTIRE CLASS. That takes determination. And a bit of an attitude.

I'm just so proud of her. She's getting glowing reports from school about how she is the "little teacher" and seeing how she's 1 of only 2 class veterans (all of the other kids are new to this class) she's become a little mentor for the new kids. I really think that if she keeps up this pace, that she'll be more than ready to try out the all day Kindergarten Readiness class next year.

Signing Time fiends

That would aptly describe my 2 little ones. ST holds their attention like no other DVD we own, and it's usually the only one they specifically ask for (either in sign or words).
I felt the need to expound on my Twitter from a few minutes ago. Sarah had woken up from her nap right about the time I'd finished straightening up/vacuuming the basement playroom. She wanted a snack and ST, so I happily obliged since I wanted to get a bit more housework done before Emma got home from school. I heard Katie talking in her room, after waking up from her nap, so I opened to the door to let her out. I said, "Morning Katie!"even though it's 4pm, lol. She still looked a bit groggy, but she heard ST on in the living room, gasped, and ran full out down the hall, yelling, "Bye Mom!!" She then said hello to Sarah (which is more than I got) and now they're happily sharing their bowl of plain tortilla chips and watching Rachel, Alex & Leah. Sarah chose "My Favorite Things" to watch, which is funny, cause I would have to guess that is her FAVORITE ST of all time. It's the one that has all the colors and veggies and fruits. "Leah's Farm" is probably a very close second.
The new volumes of Baby Signing Time are coming out next month (I think) and you can bet that those plus Volumes 10-13 of regular Signing Time will be on their Christmas lists.

Blog? What blog?

Yeah, so I haven't updated in a bit. Might have something to do with me working and going to school. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things. The kids have fallen back into their routines: Emma is loving school, Sarah's the queen of her classroom and bus, and Katie isn't crying every time I pull up to the daycare.

Life hasn't been all that exciting so I haven't felt the "need" to blog. But, maybe I'll have some good stories in the next few weeks. Jeff's going out of town starting tomorrow, which always brings it's own fun, Emma's in swim lessons instead of soccer, and between Sarah and Katie being my "twin dynamos", well I'm sure I'll have something to blog about soon.

ETA: I apparently spoke too soon: just tonight Sarah snuck into our bathroom and stole a box of my tampons. She proceeded to empty half of the box and open them. Oy vey.